Erie, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team was back on the road on Wednesday, as they were swept by Penn State-Behrend in an AMCC doubleheader. The Panthers fell 10-3 in game one and 8-2 in game two.
Game 1
The opening game of the double dip started off as a pitcher's duel, as the game was tied 1-1 through 3 innings, but after taking the lead in the 4th, the hosts exploded for 8 in the 5th inning, winning the game 10-3.
The Panthers were set down in order to begin the game, and the hosts took advantage of an error in their half of the inning to jump ahead in the first. The leadoff batter for the Lions reached on an error and then moved to third on a single. Starting pitcher Patrick Synan induced a popup for the first out, but then saw the first run of the game score on a fielder's choice.
Pitt-Bradford came right back in the second, rallying with two outs to tie the game. Justin Dattoli hit a double down the left field line, then scored a batter later as Kevin Rehak hit a single to center field. The hosts were able to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the 2nd, but Synan was able to wriggle out of the jam with a strikeout and a ground ball back to the mound.
Neither team threatened in the 3rd, but the hosts were able to take the lead in the 4th. Synan retired two in a row after a lead-off walk to begin the inning but after a stolen base allowed a single through the left side of the infield to bring in the go-ahead run.
The Panthers went down in order in the 5th, before the Lions scored 8 runs in the bottom of the inning to break open the game. Synan began the inning and allowed the Lions to load the bases on a hit batter, a single, and a walk. He was replaced by Brandon Amidon-Crawford, who was unable to get out of the ham. He walked the first two batters he faced to force in a pair of runs, and then allowed a two-run single, increasing the deficit to 4 runs. Following a hit batter, Amidon-Crawford got two outs on a fielder's choice and a fly out to shallow center but then allowed a two-out grand slam. The Panthers went back to the bullpen, turning to Brayden Hageter to end the inning. He also walked the first two batters he faced but got the next batter to ground out to first, bringing the long inning to an end.
Trailing 10-1 the Panthers were able to respond, scoring two runs in the 6th. Andrew Bokulich hit a one-out single up the middle and then moved to third on a single from Evan Fragela. During the next at-bat, the Penn sTate-Behrend pitcher threw a wild pitch, allowing Bokulich to score and Fragela to advance all the way to third. Fragela was able to score a batter later on another wild pitch.
Hageter worked around a leadoff walk to post a 0 in the bottom of the 6th before the Panthers were set down 1-2-3 in the 7th ending the game.
Patrick Synan (1-2) received the loss in the game. He allowed 5 runs, 4 earned in 4+ innings of work. He struck out 2. Brandon Amidon Crawford allowed 5 runs in 0.2 innings pitched, while Brayden Hageter pitched the final 1.1 innings without allowing a run. Kevin Rehak had the only RBI of the game for Pitt-Bradford, While Andrew Bokulick, Evan Fragela, and Justin Dattoli all had one hit and a run scored.
Game 2:
The second game of the day also started off as a low-scoring contest, but the hosts scored 7 runs in the 6th and 7th innings to open up the game.
Andrew Bokulich started the game with a single to left, but the next three Panthers were retired to end the first. Jacob Sherdel took the mound for the Panthers to start the game and fell behind in the first. Following a one-out double, Sherdel got the second out of the inning on a fly ball but was unable to keep the Lions off the board, as he allowed a single to right center to bring in the run.
Trent Bielak hit a two-out double attempting to rally and tie the game in the second, but was not able to advance, as after a walk, Kevin Rehak flew out to deep center field. Sherdel used a double play to post a 0 in the bottom half, and then after a quick inning for Pitt-Bradford, worked around a walk and a two-out single to keep the deficit at one.
Sherdel set down the side in order in the 4th and then stranded a runner in scoring position in the 5th. In the 6th, the Lions were finally able to break through, scoring 4 runs on 2 hits and 4 Panther errors. After a walk with one down, the Panthers committed two errors on one play, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Both runners scored on a single to right field, which brought Sherdel's day to an end. He was replaced by Maddox Stadler, who saw two more runs to score on a pair of stolen bases that were aided by throwing errors.
The Panthers battled back in the 7th, getting two runs back. Maxwell Rogers reached on a single to start the inning and then moved to second as Trent Bielak singled to left-center. After a strikeout, Kevin Rehak delivered a double to deep left center, bringing in both runners and cutting the advantage to 3.
The Panthers could not maintain the momentum, however, as the Lions scored 3 more in the bottom of the frame. A leadoff double was followed by an RBI single and then after a passed ball, another single pushed the lead back to 5. Stadler walked two more batters around a fly ball to left and was relieved by Austin Kitcey. Kitcey entered with the bases loaded and one out and allowed one inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly before ending the inning with a ground ball to shortstop.
The Panthers put a runner on in each of the final two innings, but were unable to advance them into scoring position, bringing the game to a close.
Jacob Sherdel (0-3) received the loss after allowing 4 runs, 2 earned in 5.1 innings pitched. He scattered 6 hits and struck out 2. Maddox Stadler allowed 4 runs, 3 earned in 1 inning of work, while Austin Kitcey pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out one batter. Kevin Rehak and Trent Bielak both had two hits with a double. Rehak drove in both runs for the Panthers, while Bielak scored once.
The Panthers fall to 6-21 after the doubleheader with a 3-7 record in AMCC play. They will return home for the final time of the regular season on Saturday, as they host LaRoche. First pitch will be thrown out by Donny Johnson, one of the Panther's biggest fans, and will begin at approximately 1:00 p.m.
