MARIETTA, OH: The Bobcat baseball team would combine some solid pitching from five different players and 11 hits to hand Marietta College a 5-3 defeat on their home field.
The victory improves Pitt-Greensburg to 16-14-1 on the season while Marietta drops to 19-14.
The Bobcats wouldn't waste any time at all getting the offense going.
Greg Lynn (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) would lead off the game with a single and make his way to second on a failed pick-off attempt.
Matt Moyer (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) would take advantage of the miscue to bring Lynn home on a double one batter later. Moyer would then advance to third on an
Anthony Bozzuto (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) single, then score the Bobcat's second run thanks to a
Chad Jacob (Bridgeville, PA, Chartiers Valley) sacrifice fly. A
Matt Germanoski (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) single followed by a
Mike Maleski (Pittsburgh, PA, Plum) walk would then load the bases for a
Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, Chartiers-Houston) fielder's choice to bring in the third run of the inning, giving UPG an early 3-0 lead.
Pitt-Greensburg would add to their advantage in the fifth inning thanks to a Germanoski deeply hit double off the outfield fence that scored Jacob, stretching the score to 4-0.
The Pioneers would trim the lead to two runs with single runs in the sixth and seventh inning.
The Bobcats would give themselves some breathing room in the top of the ninth when a Moyer single and subsequent error by the Marietta shortstop brought Lynn in from second to place Pitt-Greensburg ahead 5-2.
Marietta would also add a ninth inning run but with two outs,
Billy Elliott (Ligonier, PA, Ligonier Valley) would get the final Pioneer batter to ground out to pick up his first save of the season.
Cory Deighan (Bethel Park, PA, Seton-La Salle) would pick up the win despite only pitching 1.1 innings of shutout baseball in the start. With the Bobcats on a pitch count,
Eddie Schuessler (Pittsburgh, PA, Carrick) would make his way to the mound for 3.1 innings, continuing the scoreless trend.
Adam Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) and
Brandon Hoener (Pittsburgh, PA, Plum) would both provide 1.2 of middle relief before making way for Elliot to pitch his way out of a jam and earn the save.
Pitt-Greensburg would combine for 11 hits on the afternoon with Lynn, Moyer, Bozzuto, and Germanoski all posting 2-5 performances. Lynn would add a team-high two runs scored while Moyer, Germanoski, and Maleski all tallied doubles.
Up next for the Bobcats is a 1:00pm Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference home doubleheader on Sunday, April 26
th with Medaille College. Pitt-Greensburg will have to battle to pick up two important wins against the Mavericks as the playoff picture starts to take shape. Medaille is currently on the outside looking in with a 4-8 conference record while the fifth place (6-6) Bobcats can finish as high as fourth place depending on the outcome of their final four AMCC games.
