GREENSBURG, Pa: The Pitt-Greensburg baseball team picked up two exciting wins over Penn State Altoona in their 2016 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference opening doubleheader. They'd storm back and use a Matt Germanoski (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) walk-off single to clinch the opener 9-8 and follow up with a 7-6 triumph in the nightcap after holding off a late-inning Lion rally.
With the wins, the Bobcats start their AMCC slate at 2-0 while improving to 10-8 on the year. Penn State Altoona begins conference play at 0-2 and moves to 5-16 overall.
Game One:
Altoona opened the afternoon's scoring with four runs in the top of the first to put Pitt-Greensburg behind by a 4-0 score. The Bobcats would also get on the board in the opening inning, using one-run singles by Anthony Bozzuto (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield), Germanoski, and Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) to notch three runs of their own and move the margin to a manageable 4-3.
Two more Lion runs in the second would stretch the lead to 6-3, but a Chris Common (Trafford, PA, Penn-Trafford) RBI-double snatched one back for the Bobcats in the bottom of the inning. A Ryan Dodson one-run single in the bottom of the third then brought UPG back within one at 6-5.
Single runs by Altoona in the fourth and sixth innings extended the Lion lead to 8-5 and continued the cat-and-mouse game being played between the two rivals. Once again UPG would answer, adding their sixth run of the game on a Mike Parlak (Connellsville, PA, Connellsville) ground out that would score Germanoski.
Adam Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) collected two outs in the top of the seventh before making way for Ian Hart (Lititz, PA, Warwick) to secure the Lion's final out. Hart entered with the bases loaded but stood strong to force a fielder's choice with Pounds making the flip to Lynn for the out at second base.
The Bobcats made the most of the bottom of the seventh, starting with Greg Lynn (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) and Common reaching base to lead off the inning. Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, Chartiers-Houston) would send a deep shot to centerfield for the first out but move Lynn over to third in the process, allowing him to make the break for home on a hard hit ball by Bozzuto that forced an error on the Lion second baseman one batter later. Matt Moyer (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) wore a pitch to load the bases, giving Germanoski options for a potential game winner. The senior third baseman sent a walk-off single through the left side, scoring both Bozzuto and Common to clinch the 9-8 victory.
Pitt-Greensburg tallied 10 hits in the opener with Germanoski and Ryan Dodson leading the way with 3-3 performances. Dodson added two RBI, while Germanoski filled up the stat sheet with a double, two runs scored, and a team-high three RBI. Common also chipped in with a notable performance after finishing 2-3 with a double, a RBI, and two runs scored.
Hart earns the win, the first of his career after stepping to the bump in the seventh inning.
Game Two:
An Altoona top of the first run opened the nightcap's scoring and gave the Lion's an early 1-0 lead. Pitt-Greensburg wouldn't wait long to answer, also scoring in the first inning thanks to a Pounds single that scored Lynn for a 1-1 score.
Germanoski grabbed the lead for UPG in the bottom of the third, singling through the left side to bring Pounds around for a 2-1 Bobcat advantage.
Common extended the Bobcat lead to 4-1 an inning later with a two-run homer that brought Tyler Geary (Connellsville, PA, Connellsville) in with him.
After Altoona answered with a single run in the fifth, Ryan Dodson erased it, sending a sixth inning solo shot onto the Finoli Drive loop for a 5-2 UPG lead.
Not to be outdone, Common went yard for the second time in the nightcap to stretch the score to 6-2. Moyer would also notch an RBI in the seventh, capping the Bobcats' scoring at seven runs with a single that scored Pounds.
The Lions made things interesting in the eighth adding three runs to step within striking distance at 7-6 with one inning to play.
Pounds would face four batters in the ninth, striking out the first and walking the second. He'd follow with another strikeout and force a groundout to end the contest, helping clinch the second Pitt-Greensburg win of the day and earning his second save of the year in the process.
Cam Smith (Mars, PA, Mars Area) earns his third win of the season, tying him for a team lead after a solid five inning start. Smith allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out two Lions. Pounds line reads, 1.1 innings, no hits with two strikeouts.
The Bobcats combined for 12 hits in game two and were led by Common and Pounds who each finished 3-5. Common tallied the two homeruns along with two runs scored and a team-high three RBI. Pounds also scored a pair of runs while adding a double and a RBI.
Pitt-Greensburg will remain home for their next AMCC contest when Penn State Behrend rolls into Greensburg for a 1:00 Saturday doubleheader at Bobcat Park.
