GREENSBURG, Pa: The Pitt-Greensburg baseball team split their conference doubleheader with visiting Penn State Behrend on Saturday, earning a 3-2 win in the opener followed by a 7-5 defeat in game two.
With Saturday's results the Bobcats move to 3-1 in Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference play and 11-9 overall while Behrend opens their conference slate at 1-1 and slide to 12-6 on the season.
Game One:
With single runs in the first and third innings, Penn State Behrend opened up an early 2-0 lead.
The Bobcats answered back in the bottom of the fifth when a Zack Zimmerman (Derry, PA, Derry) groundout led to a Matt Germanoski (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) run that cut the Lion lead in half at 2-1.
Pitt-Greenburg captured the advantage in the top of the sixth, starting with a Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, Chartiers-Houston) bunt that caused all kinds of issues for the Lion infield resulting in Chris Common (Trafford, PA, Penn-Trafford) making it in all the way from first base for the second Bobcat run. Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) delivered next with a RBI-double that scored Pounds, capturing a 3-2 lead for UPG in the process.
Pounds made short work of the Lions in the seventh, facing just three batters on his way to the complete game victory. He'd hold one of the most potent AMCC lineups at arm's length, allowing just two runs on eight hits while striking out two.
The Bobcats scattered four hits in the win with Ryan Dodson earning the RBI.
Game Two:
Much like the first game, Behrend jumped out to a 2-0 advantage before the Bobcats got on the board in the bottom of the second. Matt Moyer (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) got the ball rolling, bringing UPG within one with a one run single that slid the score to 2-1.
The Lions added to their lead with a single run in the fourth inning, but the Bobcats would answer with a Ryan Dodson homerun in the bottom of the inning that kept them within one at 3-2.
Behrend stretched the margin back to two with a fifth inning run, but it would be short lived thanks to another UPG homer, this time off the bat of Common in the bottom of the fifth.
The back and forth affair continued with a Lion sixth inning run, but this time Pitt-Greensburg would have to wait to their opportunities in the bottom of the seventh to respond. They'd respond with a Pounds one-run single followed by an Anthony Bozzuto (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) sacrifice fly that brought the Bobcats even at 5-5 after seven innings played.
Unfortunately for UPG, two unanswered eighth-inning Lion runs would cap the afternoon's scoring and capture the 7-5 victory for the visitors.
The Bobcats increased their hit total to six hits in the nightcap with Pounds leading the way with a 1-2 performance that included a team-high two RBI.
Joe Zufall (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) started on the mound for Pitt-Greensburg, going the game's first four innings before making way for Brandon Rowland (Greensburg, PA, Greensburg Salem). Rowland was charged with the loss despite providing five solid inning where he allowed two earned runs on five hits and struck out seven.
Up next for the Bobcats is a three game road stint beginning with a Tuesday, March 5th matchup at Washington & Jefferson College with first pitch scheduled for 4:30pm.
