GREENSBURG, Pa: The Pitt-Greensburg baseball team ended up on the wrong end of a 9-6 decision with the College of Wooster on Thursday. After spotting the Fighting Scots a 9-1 lead over the first five innings, the Bobcats battled back to score five runs over the final two, but would come up short in the nonconference contest.
The loss drops Pitt-Greensburg to 16-4 on the year while Wooster improves to 16-8 overall.
The Fighting Scots started the scoring off with a single run in the top of the first, only to be answered by an Anthony Bozzuto (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) one-run single that knotted things at 1-1 before the teams headed into the second inning.
After a scoreless second, Wooster enjoyed an eventful top of the third, plating six runs to move atop a 7-1 advantage. They'd add two more in the top of the fifth, sliding the score to 9-1 with four and a half innings left to play.
The Bobcats began their rally in the bottom of the eighth, starting with another Bozzuto one-run single. A Matt Germanoski (Ellwood City, PA, Ellwood City) fielder's choice followed, adding another UPG run as Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) made his way in thanks to throwing error on the Wooster second baseman for a 9-3 score.
Anthony Pacelli (Jeannette, PA, Greensburg Central Catholic) injected some life into the Pitt-Greensburg dugout in the ninth, sending a double off the centerfield fence to score Matt Moyer (Greensburg, PA, Hempfield) and move Jake Bulick (Sharpsville, PA, Sharpsville) over to third. One batter later, Bulick made his way home on a wild pitch to bring the Bobcats within four runs at 9-5. Pacelli picked up the Bobcats' sixth and final run on Bozzuto's third RBI-single of the day.
Pitt-Greensburg outhit the Fighting Scots in the loss by an 11-8 margin with Bozzuto leading the way with a 3-5 performance with three RBI. Ryan Dodson and Ian Hart (Lititz, PA, Warwick) also tallied multiple hits, each finishing the day with two.
Brandon Hoener (Pittsburgh, PA, Plum) opened the game on the mound, giving the Bobcats two innings before making way for Travis Sanner (Dawson, PA, Frazier) to pick up the loss. Sanner would encounter some control problems, forcing coach Anthony Williams to go bring in Dakota McWilliams (Connellsville, PA, Connellsville) to pitch the third, fourth, and fifth innings. Cohl Gibbs (Williamstown, NJ, Williamstown) stepped in for the sixth and seventh, holding Wooster hitless and striking out four. Adam Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Bethel Park) and Mike Parlak (Connellsville, PA, Connellsville) also held the Fighting Scots without a hit after pitching the eighth and ninth respectively.
Pitt-Greensburg now hits the road with a weekend trip to Buffalo, NY for a 1:00pm Saturday doubleheader with the Spartans of D'Youville. They'll continue the road tilt on Sunday with another AMCC doubleheader at Hilbert College also slated for a 1:00pm start.
