Fort Myers, Fl.-- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team finished their Spring Break trip in Fort Myers, Fl. on Friday afternoon, losing a high-scoring battle 17-15 to Muskingum. The teams combined for 42 hits in the nine-inning contest.
The Panthers were able to jump ahead right away, scoring three runs in the top of the first. Nico Hall drew a leadoff walk, and quickly found himself on third after a wild pitch and an error on a pickoff attempt. Andrew Bokulich was able to take advantage of the situation, hitting a sacrifice fly to right to bring him in. Evan Fragela restarted the rally next, singling through the left side. Fragela stole second and after a walk to Kevin Rehak, moved to third on a wild pitch. Following another successful steal from REhak, Trent Bielak delivered a two-run double to center to put the Panthers up 3-0.
Shawn Mannering started on the hill for the Panthers, and posted a shutdown inning in the first, stranding two runners while striking out the side. After the Panthers were set down in order in the 2nd, Mannering had another quick inning. He retired the first two batters on a strikeout and a ground ball and then after a double, saw the runner thrown out stealing third by Fragela.
The Panthers tacked on a fourth run in the third. Bokulich led off with a single to left and then scored a batter later when Fragela doubled to right center. The Panthers were unable to add more as the next three batters were retired and then saw their run equaled, as the Fighting Muskies scored on a bunt, passed ball, and single in the bottom half.
Muskingum once again kept the Panthers off the board, and then tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. They quickly loaded the bases on an error, single, and a walk, and then quickly scored two runs on a pair of sacrifices. A batter later, a single through the right side tied the game at 4 and chased Mannering, who was replaced by Kyler Majka, who finished the inning with no further damage.
Two Panthers reached base in the 5th but were unable to score, and Muskingum continued building momentum, scoring two more in the bottom half to take their first lead of the game. They used two singles and a pair of Panther errors to score the runs and could have added more, but Majka induced a 6-6-3 double play to end the inning. Following another shutdown inning, the Muskies added another run in the 6th with a two-out RBI double.
After seeing their 4-run advantage reversed into a 3-run deficit, Pitt-Bradford began battling back in the 7th. Bokulich reached on an infield single to start the inning, and after a Fielder's choice, Justin Dattoli doubled to center to bring in a run. two batters later, Bielak delivered his second two-out RBI hit of the game, singling to center field to bring in Dattoli. The Panthers looked to tie the game before the end of the inning as Alex Pasternak hit a double down the right field line, but Bielak was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first.
Majka looked to be in trouble in the bottom half as he allowed a one-out triple, but he settled down and got two pop-ups in the infield to end the threat and keep the deficit at one run. He was rewarded for his shutdown inning in the eighth, as Pitt-Bradford exploded for 7 runs on 8 hits in the inning. Jake Soricone started the rally with a one-out double and then scored as Hall dropped a single into left center. After a Bokulich Walk, Fragela came through again, driving a ball into right center, clearing the bases for a two-run triple. He scored in the next at-bat on a wild pitch.
The Panthers did not stop there, as they restarted the rally. Dattoli reached on an infield single but was then thrown out trying to go from first to third on a Rehak single to right. Rehak moved to second on the play and following an intentional walk to Bielak, Pasternak hit a single to bring in another run. Kyle Kimoto joined the hit party with an infield knock and then Soricone hit his second double of the frame to score two more runs and give the Panthers a 13-7 lead.
Unfortunately, the Panthers could not hold off the Muskies. The first batter of the bottom half of the inning hit a solo home run to right and then after a single up the middle, Majka was lifted for Patrick Synan. Synan struck out the first batter he faced, but then quickly gave up a double and a sacrifice fly. The sac fly would be the last out Synan recorded, as the next 4 batters all recorded hits, including two doubles. The rally tied the game at 13 and led to the second pitching change of the inning as Synan was replaced by Jacob Sherdel. Sherdel loaded the bases as the next two batters singled and walked, but he was able to strand all the runners with a final fly ball to right field to end the inning.
The action was not done yet, as the Panthers were able to retake the lead in the 9th. Fragela hit his 3rd extra-base hit of the game with one out double, and then after DAttoli was hit by a pitch moved to third on a Rehak flyout. Bielak came to the plate in another clutch situation, and received some help from the opponent this time, as he reached on a throwing error, allowing Fragela to score the go-ahead run. The Panthers were able to add a security run as Pasternak and Kimoto were both hit by pitches to score the run and give the Panthers a 15-13 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th.
Three outs away from a victory to close out their time in Florida, the Panthers sent Joe Long to the mound to shut the door. Long walked the leadoff batter and hit the next Muskie before recording an out on a fly ball to left. Following a bunt single to load the bases, Long induced a potential game-ending double play, but the relay throw got away, allowing two runs to score, tying the game at 15. Long was unable to regroup after the error, as the next batter hit a game-winning two-run home run to right field to end the game.
Joe Long (0-1) got the loss after allowing 4 runs, 3 earned in 2/3 of an inning. Starting pitcher Shawn Mannering picked up a no-decision after allowing 4 unearned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out 4.
Offensively, all 9 Panthers in the starting lineup recorded a hit, with 6 of them picking up multi-hit games. Evan Fragela was the offensive star for the Panthers, finishing 4 for 6 with 2 doubles, a triple, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBIs. Three other Panthers had three hits in the game. Jake Soricone was 3 for 6 with two doubles, 2 RBIs, and a run scored, Trent Bielak went 3 for 5 with 3 RBIs, a double, and a run scored and Justin Dattoli finished 3 for 5 with a double, run scored, and one RBI.
The loss drops the Panthers to 3-10 on the season. They will look to stop their losing skid when they return North, as they will be back in action on Saturday, March 18th at Waynesburg.
