CRESSON, Pa: The Pitt-Greensburg baseball team picked up two important road wins on Wednesday, defeating Mount Aloysius by 8-4 and 9-2 scores in an Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference midweek doubleheader.
With the wins, the Bobcats improve to 5-1 in the AMCC and 13-10 on the season. The Mounties fall to 2-4 in conference play and 12-13 overall.
Game One:
The Bobcats wasted little time getting the offense going in the opener, jumping out to an early lead with five first-inning runs. Pitt-Greensburg got the scoring started with back-to-back-to-back one-run singles by Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, Chartiers-Houston), Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park), and Anthony Bozzuto (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield). Mike Parlak (Connellsville, PA, Connellsville) then would cap the first inning scoring frenzy with another single, plating Ryan Dodson and Bozzuto for the 5-0 score.
The Mounties cut into the Bobcat advantage with three runs in the bottom of the third, but UPG would get one back in the top of the fourth when a Ryan Dodson single scored Parlak for a 6-3 score.
Chris Common (Trafford, PA, Penn-Trafford) moved the Mountie deficit back to five runs in the top of the fifth with a two-run triple that slid the score to 8-3.
Mount Aloysius capped the opener's scoring with a single run in the bottom of the fifth. A scoreless sixth and seventh would follow, leading to the 8-4 victory for the Bobcats.
Pitt-Greensburg picked up eleven hits with Greg Lynn (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City), Ryan Dodson, Bozzuto, and Matt Moyer (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) each tallying two. Common, Ryan Dodson, and Parlak were credited with a pair of RBI each in the win.
Freshman Joe Zufall (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) picked up his first win of the season and his career after providing the first 3.1 innings pitched. He'd allow three runs on five hits and strikeout three before making way for Brandon Rowland (Greensburg, PA, Greensburg Salem) to go the rest of the way. Rowland pitched the final 3.2 innings and allowed just one run on seven hits while striking out four Mounties.
Game Two:
Pitt-Greensburg picked up right where they left off in the opener, again building a substantial lead in the early innings of game two. After a Lynn walk and stolen base, Common gave UPG a 1-0 lead with a RBI-single that brought Lynn around in the bottom of the first.
An inning later, UPG doubled their advantage to 2-0 compliments of a Zack Zimmerman (Derry, PA, Derry) single and subsequent error that brought Moyer in from second base.
The Bobcats were back at it in the top of the third, using a Pounds RBI-single to score their third run of the game. Pounds would promptly steal second and move over to third on a Bozzuto fly out to centerfield. He'd make his way in one batter later thanks to a Parlak sacrifice fly for the 4-0 advantage.
Single runs by the Mounties in the bottom of the fourth and fifth cut the UPG lead in half at 4-2.
After a scoreless sixth, UPG would move the score to 5-2 when Zimmerman made the break for home courtesy of a MTA error.
RBI's by Moyer, Tyler Holland (Pittsburgh, PA, Baldwin), and Zimmerman in the eighth inning created some breathing room for the Bobcats after stretching the score to 8-2.
Pitt-Greensburg capped the day's scoring, using a one-run single by Bozzuto to capture the 9-2 victory in the nightcap.
Pounds picks up the game two win in dominant fashion to improve to 3-1 on the season. He'd handle the Mountie lineup for 7.1 innings and allow two runs on six hits. He'd walk just one batter while striking out three before handing the ball to Adam Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) in the eighth. Adam Dodson made short work of the Mounties in 1.2 innings of relief work, holding them scoreless and hitless while striking out two.
The Bobcats notched 11 hits in the victory led by Common's 2-5 performance with a RBI and team-high two runs scored and Zimmerman's 2-3 output with a run, RBI, and stolen base. Pound helped his cause after going 2-5 also adding a run, RBI, and stolen base.
Pitt-Greensburg returns to action tomorrow, travelling to Allegheny College for a nonconference contest with the Gators beginning at 4:00pm
