Johnstown, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team traveled south to take on Pitt-Greensburg on Monday, needing a pair of wins to secure a spot in the AMCC Tournament. Unfortunately, The Panthers were not able to come up with the wins, falling to the Bobcats in both contests. They fell 9-3 in the opener and 18-7 in the nightcap.

Game 1-

The Panthers fell behind early in game one. After a Pitt-Bradford leadoff single was erased by a double play, the Bobcats scored 2 in the bottom of the first. They loaded the bases before an out could be recorded using a single, hit batter and error, before scoring both runs on a single to left center. Starting Pitcher Kyler Majka was able to limit the damage, retiring the next two batters to end the inning.

The Panthers were able to come right back in the second, tying the game at two. Max Rogers and Justin Dattoli started the frame with singles and then moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Kevin Rehak drove in the runs with a single to left. Majka was unable to keep the momentum with the Panthers, however, as the hosts quickly scored 4 more runs in the bottom of the inning. They used 4 hits, a walk, and a bunt to score the runs.

Following a quiet 3rd inning, the Bobcats tacked on another run in the 4th, before the Panthers were able to rally in the 5th. Rehak drew a leadoff walk and then moved to second on a hit from Bret Babcock. After a sacrifice bunt, Nico Hall singled in a run. The inning came to a quick and controversial close in the next at-bat, as Andrew Bokulich hit a fly ball to right center that was caught on an acrobatic play by the Bobcat outfielder. Babcock tagged and scored on the play, but was controversially called out for leaving the base early on the play, ending the rally.

The Bobcats were able to answer the run with a leadoff walk and a double, chasing Majka after 4.1 innings pitched. He was replaced by Jacob Sherdel, who allowed the inherited runner to score on another double but avoided further damage with an inning-ending strikeout. 

The Panthers threatened to rally again in the 6th, as Evan Fragela and Rogers started the inning with singles to left, and then Dattoli drew a walk to load the bases with no outs. The rally came to a quick end, as the next batter went down on strikes and then finished on a 5-5-3 double play. 

Sherdel escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 6th to keep the deficit at 6 heading into the final inning. In the 7th, the Panthers loaded the bases with three walks, but could not come up with the big hit to drive in the runs, ending the game and their playoff chances with a fielder's choice at third base.

Kyler Majka (2-6) pitched 4.1 innings while allowing 9 runs, 7 of them earned. He struck out two. Jacob Sherdel pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits with one strikeout. Three separate Panthers recorded multi-hit games. Nico Hall was 2 for 3 with an RBI, while Evan Fragela and Maxwell Rogers also had two hits a piece. Kevin Rehak was 1 for 2 and drove in 2 runs. 

Game 2:

The nightcap saw the hosts explode for 9 runs over the first two innings. The Panthers rallied and cut the lead down to three, but saw the Bobcats answer with their second 7-run inning of the game to put the game away.

Shawn Mannering started the game on the mound for the Panthers and fell behind a run after the first. Following a quick at-bat from the Panthers, he allowed a leadoff double, and then induced back-to-back groundouts, allowing the first run to score.

The Panthers picked up a hit in the top of the 2nd, but the Bobcats had Mannering's number in the bottom half, scoring 5 times while Mannering recorded just one out before being relieved. After loading the bases with a pair of walks and a single, he gave up a double to bring in the first two. The Panthers got an out on a force play at the plate after another walk, before Mannering was chased following a two-run single and a double. Austin Kitcey took over and allowed a two-run single to the first batter he faced before retiring the next two batters to end the frame.

Trailing 8-0, the Panthers rallied in the 3rd, scoring four times. Bret Babcock started the rally with a double to left center before the Panthers loaded the bases through a hit batter and a walk. Evan Fragela forced in a run when he was hit by a pitch, and the Panthers added a second after a strikeout when Kevin Rehak reached on a fielder's choice. Justin Dattoli came up with a big hit with two outs, driving in two more runs with a double to center. The Bobcats were able to take back some of the momentum in the bottom half, as they used a walk, a double and a few wild pitches to score two runs. 

Pitt-Bradford scored three more runs in the 4th, cutting the lead to 10-7. Babcock started the rally once again, as he was hit by a pitch with one out. Nico Hall drew a walk and then two batters later, Evan Fragela hit a three-run home run to left field. It was his second of the season. 

The Panthers once again could not post a shutdown inning to keep the momentum in their dugout, as Pitt-Greensburg scored 7 more runs in the bottom of the 4th. The Bobcats loaded the bases with a pair of singles and an error, before scoring four runs on back-to-back hits. Maddox Stadler entered the game for the Panthers after the second hit. He allowed one inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly, and then allowed two more runs before bringing the inning to an end with a strikeout.

Pitt-Bradford was unable to put together any more rallies over their final three at-bats. Pinch hitter Kai Joseph was the only Panther to record a hit in the last three innings, the first of his career. Stadler limited the hosts to one more run in the final innings.

Shawn Mannering (1-6) picked up the loss after being tagged for 8 runs in 1.1 innings pitched. Austin Kitcey struck out one batter while allowing 6 earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched. Maddox Stadler pitched the final 3 innings, allowing 1 earned, while striking out a pair. Evan Fragela drove in 4 runs in the loss, 3 of them coming on his second home run of the season. Justin Dattoli also drove in a pair with a two-out double.

The Panthers fall to 7-24 on the season and finish conference play at 4-10 and in a tie for 7th. They are scheduled to bring their season to a close tomorrow, as they travel to Wilson College for a single 9-inning game. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m.