GREENSBURG, Pa: After jumping out to an early 3-0 lead, the Pitt-Greensburg baseball team fell victim to some strong offensive output from Mount Union on their way to falling 15-3 in the 2016 home opener.
The setback slides Pitt-Greensburg to 7-6 on the season while the Raiders improve to 8-7 for the year.
After a silencing the Raiders over the first two innings, the Bobcats snatched the game's first lead in the bottom of the second. A Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) single and a Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, Chartiers-Houston) walk placed two runners on for freshman Chris Common (Trafford, PA, Penn-Trafford) and he'd deliver in a big way. He'd take the Raiders Noah Skladan's offering and send a three-run shot over the outfield fence for an early 3-0 UPG lead.
Mount Union answered in the top of the third inning, tallying eight runs to capture the 8-3 advantage.
The score remained the same until the sixth, with five more Raider runs stretching the score to 13-3.
The Raiders tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth to extend the advantage to 15-3.
A Pitt-Greensburg late inning rally was not in the cards, eventually leading to the victory for the visiting Raiders.
The Bobcats scattered seven runs on the afternoon, with Common leading the offensive charge after a 2-3 performance that included a homerun, a run scored, and three RBI.
Brandon Rowland (Greensburg, PA, Greensburg Salem) earned the loss after exiting after 2.2 innings in the start. He'd get touched up for six runs on four hits, but strikeout four before making way for the Bobcat bullpen. Six total pitchers would make their way to the mound for UPG with Tyler Potutschnig (Flinton, PA, Glendale) serving as the only Bobcat to hold Mount Union off the board after a scoreless top of the ninth.
The Bobcats will look to bounce back with a three game series with Case Western Reserve. They'll begin with a 3:30pm single game at Case on Friday, then head back to Greenburg for a home doubleheader with the Spartans on Saturday, March 26. Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 1:00pm.
