Spring has sprung and so has the Pitt-Bradford baseball team as
the Panthers swept a 6-4, 7-2 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate
Conference doubleheader from Mount Aloysius College at Kessel Field
on Monday.
After three postponements last week, it was a balmy 53 degrees
for the home opener as the Panthers improved to 9-6 overall and 2-0
in the AMCC.
“This is a good way to start league play,” said Bret Butler,
Pitt-Bradford head coach. “It’s nice to come out and play good
baseball.”
Tanner Bechtel hurled six strong innings and Jimmy Colestro
drove in three runs in the 6-4 triumph in the opener.
Bechtel allowed just six hits and two earned runs, while
striking out seven and walking only one. The sophomore right-hander
from Conneautville is now 2-0 with a 1.72 ERA on the season.
“Tanner (Bechtel) did a nice job for the second game in a row,”
Butler noted. “He is aggressive, he trusts his fastball and gets
ahead of the hitters.”
Bechtel got all the support he needed in the second inning as
the Panthers plated five runs off starter Ryan Clouse.
Shawn Manning began the frame by getting plunked by a pitch and
then Zach Foster reached on an outfield error. Geoff Brabham drove
in Manning with a single to leftcenter, Colestro followed with a
two-run double to the opposite gap, and then John Callahan and Dom
Morelli registered RBI singles to give Pitt-Bradford a 5-0 lead
after two.
“That (five-run inning) is something we’ve been doing all year,”
Butler recalled. “We’ve been an offensive club and hopefully we’ll
remain an offensive club.”
The Mounties (5-9, 0-2) tallied a run in the third on a
run-scoring groundout by Joey Hinton, but the Panthers answered in
their half when Foster singled and scored on Colestro’s two-bagger
off the left field fence.
“Those hits by Jimmer (Colestro) were big,” Butler stated.
“Jimmer hit the ball real well in that first game and he is also
playing good defense (at shortstop).”
The visitors from Cresson cut their deficit to 6-2 in the fifth
on an RBI base hit by Hinton. The Mounties then threatened with two
outs and a pair of runners in scoring position in the sixth, but
Manning made a diving stop at third and fired across the diamond
for the final out of the inning.
“That play by Shawn (Manning) saved a couple of runs and got us
out of a big jam,” Butler declared.
After Chad Yohe had relieved Bechtel in the seventh and
relinquished two runs on three singles and an infield error, Jake
Wells came in to fan the final batter and pick up his first save of
the year.
In the second game, Foster (1-0) made his first Pitt-Bradford
start and the freshman from Bradford didn’t disappoint with a
three-hit, two-run performance over five-plus innings.
“Zach (Foster) has a very live arm,” Butler observed. “He throws
hard and keeps the hitters honest. He did a nice job for his first
collegiate win.”
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a
single by Callahan, a passed ball and an RBI groundout from Ryan
Snyder off starter Hinton.
Mount Aloysius knotted the contest at 1-1 in the third with an
RBI triple by Brandon Bryner off the base of the rightcenter field
barrier.
Pitt-Bradford countered in its home portion with base hits by
Corey Smock and Snyder, and an RBI double to leftcenter by
Morelli.
The Panthers clinched the affair with two runs in the fourth on
a wild pitch and Snyder’s RBI single, and then scored three runs in
the fifth on Tim Johnson’s RBI base hit and a two-run double by
Callahan.
“He (Callahan) has been a sparkplug for us,” Butler said. “He is
a good leadoff hitter and is a very reliable outfielder.”
After Foster was lifted with a runner on first in the sixth,
Ryne Wight pitched two hitless innings to complete the sweep.
The Panthers travel to Painesville, Ohio, for a twin-bill with
Lake Erie College (4-9, 0-0) on Wednesday.
