Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford softball team stopped its 3-game losing skids on Thursday, as they split their games in Naples, Fla. this morning. The Panthers started the day with a 9-2 victory over Alverno, but fell to John Carroll 6-2 in the second game.

Game 1:

The Panthers fell behind early, as the Inferno scored a run in each of their first two at-bats, but Pitt-Bradford closed with 9 unanswered runs to win the game.

Pitt-Bradford went down quietly in the first, as only Daytona Wentzel was able to reach on a single down the line. Alverno scratched their first run across in the first off of starter Krislyn Clement. After a leadoff single and a stolen base, Clement retired two batters on a strikeout and a grounder back to the circle. With a runner on third and two outs, shortstop faith McLaughlin made a tough diving play up the middle, but her throw across the infield was just late, allowing the run to score. Clement struck out the next batter to end the frame.

The Panthers went down in order in the second, and Alverno quickly doubled their lead. The leadoff battle doubled into the gap and then moved to third on a bunt single. The lead runner was able to score on an RBI groundout to second, and Clement retired the next two to get out of the inning.

After two quick innings to begin the game, the Panthers were able to explode for 6 runs in the 3rd. Lexi Najdusak led off the inning with a double down the left-field line. She stole third, and then was able to scamper home as a pickoff throw to third was errant. Down one, the Panthers quickly loaded the bases as Rachel Przybysz walked, McLaughlin reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt and Chloe Cordova dropped down a bunt for a hit. Wentzel tied the game as she was hit by a pitch and then Lexi Peters lined a single into center to bring in two runs. The Panthers added two more runs as MArguerite DeFranco reached on another error on a sacrifice bunt and then pulled off a double steal with Peters.

Clement quickly got the Panthers back in the dugout after the big inning. She induced a grounder to third for the first batter and then after a walk, snagged a line drive back up the middle and threw to first for an inning-ending double play.

Pitt-Bradford continued building momentum after the shutdown inning. Przybysz drew another walk and then moved to second as McLaughlin bunted for a hit. The runners used a double steal to get into scoring position and then Przybysz scored on a single by Wentzel. Following a failed double steal attempt that resulted in McLaughlin getting picked off at third, Peters doubled to deep center field to bring in Wentzel and put the Panthers ahead 8-2. 

Clement had another strong inning in the fourth, working around an error in the outfield to post another shutdown inning. In the subsequent inning, the Panthers added another run. Lindsay Steele and Najdusak both singled to start the inning and then used a double steal to move to 2nd and 3rd. Przybysz received another free pass as she was hit by a pitch and then after two pop-ups in the infield, Wentzel was hit with the bases loaded again to force in a run.

Clement took over from there, allowing just a 5th-inning single and a runner to reach on an error in the 7th to close out the game.

Krislyn Clement (2-0) picked up her first complete-game victory, allowing 2 earned runs on 5 hits. She struck out three batters. Daytona Wentzel reached base all 4 times she came to the plate, as she was hit by a pitch for RBIs twice and had two singles. She finished 2 for 2 with 2 runs and 3 RBIS. Lexi Peters was 2 for 5 in the game with 3 runs batted in and a double. Lexi Najdusak also posted a multi-hit game, going 2 for 4. 

Game 2:

The Panthers faced a tough task in their second game of the day, as they took on John Carroll, who was out to a 5-2 start. The Panthers rallied late but were unable to come up with enough offense to keep up with the Blue Streaks, falling 6-2.

The Panthers fell behind early for the second time of the day, as John Carrol used three singles to take a 1-0 first-inning lead. Starting pitcher Ashley Stein was able to limit the damage however, retiring two in a row to leave runners on 2nd and 3rd. The Panthers had a promising offensive start in their half of the first, as Faith McLaughlin doubled into left-center, but she was not able to advance any further, as the next three Panthers were retired in order. 

The Blue Streaks used two singles and a wild pitch to go ahead 2-0 in the second, but once again Stein was able to recover and limit them to just one tally in the frame. The Panther offense was unable to threaten over the next four innings, as they were limited to a 3rd inning single from McLaughlin. In the meantime, Stein was able to keep the deficit at two runs, as she retired the side in order in the 3rd, and worked around two singles in the 4th to post another 0.

Stein was relieved by Meghan Kapp in the 5th, who worked quickly to limit John Carroll to one single in her first inning of work. She was unable to hold off the Blue Streaks for long, however, as they were able to add two runs on two hits and a walk in the 6th, pushing their lead to 4-0. 

Pitt-Bradford was finally able to touch up the John Carroll starter in the 6th. Rachel Przybysz drew a leadoff walk but seemed to be stuck at first after the next two batters flew out to center. Daytona Wentzel stepped up with two outs and took a big swing, crushing a home run to left to cut the deficit in half. It was the first home run of Wentzel's career. Lexi Peters followed the home run with a triple to the gap, which led to a John Carroll pitching change. The reliever was effective, striking out the first batter she faced to end the threat. 

The Panthers looked to keep the deficit at two runs in the 7th but were unable to keep the Blue Streaks off the board. After retiring the first batter of the frame, Kapp saw two runners reach base on a single and an error in the infield. She nearly escaped the jam, as she got the next batter to foul out to short left field, but could not finish the inning, as the next batter doubled to right-center to bring in both runners. 

Needing four runs to extend the game, the Panthers got off to a promising start in the bottom of the 7th, as pinch hitters Lexi Najdusak and Marguerite DeFranco each drew walks to start the inning. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not move them from there, as the next two batters went down on strikes and the game came to an end on a popup in the infield.

Ashley Stein (1-2) picked up the loss despite a strong start. She worked through 7 hits to limit John Carroll to two runs in 4 innings pitched. Meghan Kapp pitched 3 innings of relief, allowing 4 runs, 2 earned, on 5 hits and a walk. The Panthers were limited to just 4 hits in the game, but three of them were for extra bases. Daytona Wentzel hit her first career home run in the game and drove in both Panther runs. Faith McLaughlin was 2 for 4 with a double and Lexi Peters added a triple.

The Panthers are now 4-6 on the season. They will bring their spring break trip to a close tomorrow with two final games. They will take on SUNY Brockport at 9:00 a.m., and then close their time in Florida with a matchup with SUNY Potsdam. The games will be held at the North Collier Regional Park.