BETHANY, W.Va.- Playing its first game in nearly two weeks and the first game back from its seven-game Spring Break trip down to Florida, the Pitt-Greensburg baseball team did not show any rust from the layoff as it pounded out 12 hits in a 6-5 victory at Bethany Thursday afternoon.
Prior to Thursday, the Bobcats played their last game March 8 in which they recorded a 6-4 victory over Juniata.
Fast forward to Thursday's game, the Bobcats got hot at the plate tied a season-high with 12 hits, and got another great start from
Bill Minnick (West Mifflin, PA, CCAC South) who tossed six strong innings, allowing just one earned run on six hits, and struck out five.
At the plate,
Ryan Dodson (Bethel Park, PA, Davis & Elkins) and
Zack Zimmerman (Derry, PA, Derry) each led the way with three hits, while the Bobcats got great production up and down the lineup as five people drove in at least one run.
Dodson was 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs and connected on his first home run of the season, while Zimmerman continued his hot start to the season totaling three hits in four plate appearances and also added a run. Through eight games this season, Zimmerman is second on the team behind
Mike Spadafore (New Freedom, PA, Susquehannock) with a .444 batting average.
Bethany had a chance early in the game to jump out to the lead as Brandon Wagner led off the first with a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a foul out by Neil Woods, but Minnick dialed in on the next batter and struck out Jake Stemmerich to end the inning and escape the jam.
After two hits in the top of the second, the Bobcats exploded for four runs in the third to take the lead.
Chris Common (Trafford, PA, Penn-Trafford), Dodson,
Tyler Holland (Pittsburgh, PA, Baldwin), and
Tyler Lilja (Greensburg, Pa, Westmoreland Community College) all recorded RBI's as Pitt-Greensburg took advantage of two Bethany errors and led 4-0 headed into the bottom of the third.
The Bison however, got a run back in the bottom of the inning as Saige Micomonaco scored on a sacrifice fly by Miller.
Pitt-Greensburg continued to hold the lead, but that would change as the Bison put together a four-run seventh inning to take back the lead, 5-4.
The Bobcats would not lay down and quit, as Dodson sent a solo blast, his first of the season, to tie the game at five.
Billy Elliott (Ligonier, PA, Ligonier Valley) was brought on to pitch the eighth and the senior left hander came through allowing just one hit and sent the game into the ninth all tied at five.
Zimmerman gave the Bobcats life in the ninth smacking a one-out single up the middle. Spadafore struck out for the second out of the inning, but
Vinnie Shoff (Pittsburgh, Pa, Westmoreland Community College) made the most of his second bat of the day, drilling a double down the right field line to score Zimmerman and put the Bobcats up 6-5.
Senior
Dylan Pounds (Houston, PA, West Liberty) was brought on to close out the game in the ninth for Pitt-Greensburg. Pounds sent the Bison down 1-2-3 in his first outing of the season and sent the Bobcats to the 6-5 comeback win.
Pitt-Greensburg is scheduled to return to the diamond Monday, when it hosts Allegheny for its home opener at 4:00 p.m.
