Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford softball team wrapped up its regular season on Wednesday evening, securing a spot in the AMCC Championship Tournament with a pair of wins over Hilbert. They took game one 4-2 and then won game two 13-4 in five innings.
Game One:
The Panthers took an early lead in game one, and then after responding to a two-run frame in the 3rd, shut down the visiting Hawks for a 4-2 win.
Krislyn Clement started for Pitt-Bradford and made quick work of Hilbert in the first, retiring the side in order. The Panther offense immediately sprang into action, scoring before an out could be recorded. Miranda Groll led off with a double to deep center field, then scampered into third after an errant throw back to the pitcher. Lexi Najdusak followed with a line-drive single to right to open the scoring. After a strikeout and a stolen base, Clement doubled her lead, hitting a double off the fence in right to drive in Najdusak.
Following a quiet 2nd inning that saw both teams leave a runner on base, Hilbert tied the game in the 3rd. The Hawks led off the inning with a double, and then, after a strikeout, lined a single up the middle to put runners on the corners. They pushed the first run of the frame across on a fielding error in the infield, and then tied he game with a single to center. Clement settled down after the game was tied, striking out two straight to end the frame.
Pitt-Bradford's offense responded immediately, matching the 2-run frame in the bottom half. Najdusak started the rally with a single through the right side before Sara Stroup reached on an infield single. Clement came through with the big hit once more, driving a double into the left-center gap to bring in both runners. She was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play. The Panthers continued to rally after the double, as Ciera Adams, Grace Gardner, and Meghan Kapp all singled around a strikeout, but the inning came to an end on a fielder's choice groundout with the bases full.
Clement posted a second shutdown inning in the 4th, working around a leadoff single to keep the momentum with the Panthers. She made quick work of the Hawks again in the 5th, setting them down 1-2-3, and then following a leadoff walk in the 6th, induced a double play and a lineout to end the frame. In the top of the 7th, she stranded a pair of runners after two infield errors to close the game.
Krislyn Clement picked up the complete game victory, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, on 5 hits and a walk. She struck out 5 batters. She also had a big game at the plate, finishing 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and a4 RBI. Lexi Najdusak went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, while Ciere Adams also recorded a multi-hit game.
Game Two:
In the nightcap, the Panthers used two 3rd inning home runs to go ahead of the Hawks and then scored 4 runs in the 5th inning to finish the game 13-4 in 5 innings.
Sandra Watne got the start for Pitt-Bradford and fell behind in the first. She gave up a one-out double and then saw the visitors open the scoring on an infield error. She settled down after the run scored, ending the inning with a sacrifice bunt and a grounder back to the circle. The Panthes had an immediate response, scoring twice in the bottom half of the opening frame. Groll reached on an error to start the game before the next two batters were retired. Pitt-Bradford rallied with two outs, extending the inning with a Krislyn Clement walk before Ciera Adams lined a single into center to tie the game. A few pitches later, the Panthers took the lead when Clement scored on a wild pitch.
Following a quick 2nd inning, the Hawks went back ahead with a two-out rally of their own in the 3rd. After a leadoff single, Watne got two quick outs on a strikeout and a fly ball to right, but failed to get out of the inning unscathed. She gave up a double to tie the game, and then a single to right field, which put the Hawks back in front. Following another hit, she induced a fly ball to left to end the frame.
Pitt-Bradford had another quick response in their half of the inning, hitting a pair of home runs before an out could be recorded to take control of the game. Najdusak and Stroup started the rally with a pair of singles before Clement blasted a home run to dead center, restoring the Panther lead. It was her 5th home run of the season. After Adams continued the rally with a single, Anna Bokulich crushed another home run to center to extend the lead to 4 runs. The blast was the first of the sophomore catcher's career.
Watne retired the side 1-2-3 for another shutdown inning in the 4th before the Panthers tacked on two more in the bottom of the frame. Najdusak drew a walk to lead off the inning, and then moved to second on another Stroup single. The Panthers loaded the bases when Clement reached on a fielder's choice, which did not result in an out. The Panthers nearly lost momentum after a 5-2-3 double play, but Bokulich came through with another big hit, driving a two-run double to left, pushing the lead to 6 runs.
The Hawks started the 5th with two singles around a walk to score once, leading to a Pitt-Bradford pitching change. Christa Koagel replaced Watne, and got two pop-ups and a groundout to escape a bases-loaded jam with a 9-4 lead. Pitt-Bradford's offense put the game away in the bottom of the inning, scoring 4 times without recording an out to end the contest. Meghan Kapp led off with a single up the middle and was lifted for a pinch runner, Alyssa Burlew. Burlew took 2nd on a wild pitch, and then third on a passed ball before scoring when Payton Frank beat out a bunt single. After Groll reached on another error, Najdusak brought in a run with an infield single, and Stroup doubled down the line to drive in both runners and finish the game.
Sandra Watne (4-5) picked up the win after allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, on 7 hits and a walk. She struck out 4 batters, a season-high. Christa Koagel pitched 1 inning, allowing just one walk. Anna Bokulich broke out for the Panthers, finishing 2 for 4 with 4 RBI and her first career home run. Sara Stroup went 3 for 4 with a double, 2 runs scored, and 2 more driven in. Krislyn Clement was 1 or 2 with a 3-run home run and 3 runs scored. Lexi Najdusak and Ciera Adams also had two hits each.
The Panthers finish the regular season with an 11-23 record, including a 7-9 mark in AMCC play. With the sweep over Hilbert, they not only secured their spot in the AMCC Tournament, but also passed the Hawks to finish with the #5 seed. They will head to #1 seed Penn State-Altoona for the 1st pod in the tournament. They will play a 3-team double-elimination tournament, beginning with a matchup against #4 Penn State-Behrend at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
