CHESTERTOWN, Md: After narrowly falling 2-0 in the opener, the Pitt-Greensburg baseball team rebounded for a 6-3 game two victory with a
Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) grand slam proving to be the difference.
With Saturday's split, the Bobcats are now 7-5 on the season while Washington College moves to 11-2-1.
GAME ONEThe opener was defined in every sense of the word as a pitcher's duel, with Pitt-Greensburg's
Joe Zufall (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) and Washington College's
Dan Jarrell dictating the afternoon's action. Combined, the pair allowed just five total hits over seven innings and kept the game scoreless over the first five.
Washington would break the deadlock, adding a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a 2-0 advantage.
Pitt-Greensburg rallied in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs on the board. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, a fly-out would end the game leaving UPG on the wrong end of a 2-0 decision.
Zufall (0-2) was outstanding despite the loss. He'd pitch all six innings for the Bobcats, giving up two runs on just two hits while striking out two.
Offensively the Bobcats picked up three hits in the opener with
Matt Moyer (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield),
Anthony Bozzuto (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield), and
Chris Common (Trafford, PA, Penn-Trafford) tallying one a piece.
GAME TWOAfter two scoreless innings opened the nightcap, the Bobcat bats got going in the top of the third. A
Mike Parlak (Connellsville, PA, Connellsville) single coupled with walks of Moyer and Bozzuto provided Pitt-Greensburg with a chance to cash in with the bases loaded. Ryan Dodson responded and sent a shot over the leftfield fence, promptly moving UPG atop a 4-0 lead with the grand slam.
The Shoremen snagged a run back in the bottom of the third, but a
Greg Lynn (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) RBI single in the fourth would keep the Bobcat advantage at three runs.
A
Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, Chartiers-Houston) single one inning later added another Bobcat run when Bozzuto crossed home to stretch the score to 6-1.
A pair of Shoremen fifth inning runs would cap the afternoon's scoring and bring us to the 6-3 final.
Pitt-Greensburg tallied six hits in the nightcap with Pounds going 2-3 with a RBI. Dodson's grand slam notched him a game-high four RBI.
Cam Smith (Mars, PA, Mars Area) improves to 2-1 in his freshman campaign after successfully navigating the Bobcats through the first 5.1 innings. He'd give up three runs, two earned on three hits and strike out two batters in the victory. Pounds shut the door on Washington College striking out four batters in 2.2 innings of shutout relief work.
The Bobcats return to Greensburg in preparation of their Tuesday, March 22
nd home opener against the University of Mount Union. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00pm.