Greenville, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team was not able to hold on to late leads against Thiel on Wednesday, losing both games of a doubleheader late. The lost game one 7-5 after allowing three in the 6th and dropped game two 9-8 in walk-off fashion.
Game One -
The Panthers got off to a good start as they took an early 2-0 lead. Nico Hall led off the game with the base hit, and then took second as Andrew Bokulich reached on a bunt single. Maxwell Rogers recorded the third straight hit of the inning as he singled to center, loading the bases before an out could be recorded. The inning came to a quick end, however, as the Panthers brought in one run on a double play and then flew out to center to finish the frame. Patrick Synan started the game on the mound for the Panthers, and posted a shutdown inning in the first, setting down the side in order, bringing the Panthers back to the plate.
Pitt-Bradford doubled their lead in the 2nd, as Justin Dattoli led off the inning with a solo home run to left field. It was his first of the year. The next three went down in order, and the Tomcats took the momentum back in the bottom of the second. They put runners on second and third to start the inning, using two singles and ill-advised throws from the Panthers. The next batter singled up the middle to tie the game at two. After another single, Synan was able to quickly get out of the inning with a fielder's choice and a 6-4-3 double play.
Both teams were able to put a runner on in both the 3rd and 4th innings but were not able to move into the lead. The Panthers were able to take the lead in the 5th. Kyle Kimoto led off the frame with a single up the middle and then moved to third on a double by Bokulich. Rogers drove in the run as he reached on an error, but the Panthers could not tack on any more runs as the next two batters flew out to end the threat. Synan retired the first two batters of the bottom half of the inning but was unable to record another out. The Tomcats tied the game with a single, walk, and another single, which led to a pitching change. Synan was replaced by Brandon Amidon-Crawford, who gave up a single to put Thiel ahead, but then ended the inning with a fly ball to right.
The Panthers battled right back in the 6th, scoring two runs to retake the lead. Kevin Rehak started the inning with an infield single and took second on a throwing error. Two batters later, he scored to tie the game as Kyle Kimoto doubled to left field. After a fly-out for the second out, Bokulich delivered a double to left to bring in Kimoto and give the Panthers the lead. Rogers reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners, but Fragela lined out to short to end the frame.
The Pitt-Bradford lead did not last long, as the Tomcats came right back with 3 runs in their half of the inning. Amidon-Crawford walked the leadoff batter and then allowed a bunt single. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third before a double to right brought in both runs. He was replaced by Jacob Sherdel, who allowed the inherited runner to score on a single but struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
In the 7th, the Panthers put runners on 2nd and 3rd with an error, hit batter, and a sacrifice bunt. They were unable to come through with the big hit, as the next two batters went down on strikes to end the game.
Starting pitcher Patrick Synan picked up a no-decision after allowing 4 runs, 2 earned on 8 hits in 4.2 innings pitched. He struck out one. Brandon Amidon-Crawford (2-2)allowed 3 earned in 0.2 innings pitched and received the loss. Jacob Sherdel faced three batters and struck out two of them. Andrew Bokulich led the Panther offense, finishing 3 for 4 with an RBI and two doubles. Kyle Kimoto went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Maxwell Rogers also had a multi-hit day, going 2 for 3 with an RBI. Justin Dattoli hit his first home run of the season.
Game 2
Pitt-Bradford took an early lead again in game two as Justin Dattoli drove in a run after Andrew Bokulich and Evan Fragela both hit doubles. They could not hold onto the momentum, however, as the Tomcats scored twice in the bottom half. After retiring the first batter, starting pitcher Trent Bielak walked the bases loaded. He nearly got out of the jam unscathed as he grabbed a line drive back up the middle but his throw to first was low and not handled. The next batter took advantage and singled into right field to bring in two runs.
Neither team was able to threaten in the second inning and after an out on the basepaths resulted in another 0 in the 3rd for Pitt-Bradford, Thiel tacked on to their lead. They put runners on 2nd and 3rd with a leadoff walk, a single, and a groundout, before scoring on an infield single to short. The Tomcats loaded the bases with another walk, but Bielak escaped further damage with a pop-up to first and a strikeout.
The Panthers tied the game in the 3rd, scoring twice before recording an out. Maxwell Rogers led off the frame and blasted a no-doubt home run to left. Kevin Rehak followed with a single and then stole second base before scoring on a Matt Ranallo double to right. The next three Panthers went down in order, leaving Ranallo on 2nd base. Bielak was able to retire the leadoff batter in the 4th, but quickly fell behind again as the next batter hit a home run to right center to put Thiel up 4-3. After the home run, he was replaced by Maddox Stadler, who allowed two runners to reach but got out of the inning with two runners on base.
The 5th inning was another eventful frame, as both teams scored multiple times to take the lead. The Panthers loaded the bases with a walk and two hit batters before Ranallo had another big hit, singling through the left side of the infield to bring in two runs. The Tomcats came right back in the bottom of the inning, scoring three times. Stadler was able to retire two of the first three batters, but after a walk and a hit batter, the Tomcats hit a double to right to retake the lead. They tacked on another run on an error in the infield before Stadler struck out a batter to end the inning.
Pitt-Bradford was able to cut the lead in half in the 6th. Jake Soricone was hit by a pitch to start the inning and moved to second on a groundout. Bokulich delivered his second double of the game, bringing in Soricone to cut the lead to 1. Brayden Hageter replaced Stadler to start the 6th and quickly ran into trouble as the first two batters of the inning reached on errors. With the help of his infield, Hageter was able to get out of the jam without allowing a run as DAttoli cut down a runner at the plate on a safety squeeze play and then Hageter induced two straight groundouts to end the inning.
After Hageter recorded a huge shutdown inning to keep the Panther deficit at one, the offense rallied to score two runs and take the lead in the 7th. Rehak logged his third base hit of the day with a one-out single and then two hit batters around a pitching change loaded the bases with one out. Soricone hit a shallow fly ball to left for the second out, but the Panthers used two more free bases to take the lead as Hall was hit by a pitch to tie the game and Bokulich drew a walk to put the Panthers in front.
Hageter returned to the mound with a one-run lead in the 7th but was unable to hold off the Tomcats. After a leadoff walk, Hageter was given the first out of the inning on a sacrifice bunt, moving the runner to 2nd base. It would be the last out recorded in the game as after a walk and a bloop single loaded the bases, Thiel squeaked a base hit through the left side of the infield to bring in two runs and win the game.
Brayden Hageter (0-1) picked up the loss in relief as he allowed 2 earned runs in 1.1 innings pitched. Maddox Stadler threw 1.2 innings in relief, allowing three runs, two earned, while striking out one. Starter Trent Bielak lasted 3.1 innings, allowing 4 earned with one strikeout. Kevin Rehak and Matt Ranallo had big games for the Panthers offensively. Rehak finished 3 for 3 and scored twice. Ranallo went 2 for 3 with one run scored and 3 batted in. Nico Hall, Andrew Bokulich, and Evan Fragela all tallied two hits. Maxwell Rogers hit his team leading 3rd home run of the season.
The Panthers fall to 6-17 on the season with the losses. They will return to AMCC play this weekend as they travel to Penn State-Altoona on Saturday. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
