Pitt-Johnstown scratched out three runs late to capture a 7-4 victory in the opener before suffering a 12-1 defeat in the nightcap to split a PSAC West doubleheader with Gannon on Saturday afternoon at Point Stadium.
The Mountain Cats closed the day at 11-23 overall (3-13 PSAC).
Game One—Pitt-Johnstown 7, Gannon 4
Aidan Steinbugl recorded two hits, including a double, and scored three times for the Mountain Cats, who had at least one hit in every frame aside from the third. Calvin Iseminger drove in a season-high three runs to give him six RBIs on the year.
Steinbugl and Noah Donis each walked to set up Stover, who came through in the clutch with a two-out double to tie the game at 2-all. Iseminger's sharp single to right field brought home Donis and Stover to give the Mountain Cats a 4-2 lead.
The Golden Knights tied it 4-4 with a two-run home run in the fifth. However, the Mountain Cats responded with three runs on just two hits in a chaotic sixth inning where they batted around the lineup.
After Steinbugl led off the inning with a single, Donis was hit by a pitch with one out. Stover walked and Iseminger grounded out to score Steinbugl and make it 5-4. One batter later, Brody Roberts cracked a two-RBI single that extended the lead to 7-4.
Steinbugl doubled to lead off the second and later scored on Stover's two-out single to make it 1-0 early. Gannon responded with two runs to take a brief lead.
Zac LeGars and Justin Turcovski each had a hit and reached base safely twice.
Starter Ben Tomb received a no-decision after going four-plus innings and giving up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Zyler Freeman earned the win in a smooth three innings of work where he gave up just one run on one hit with three strikeouts and no walks.
Game Two—Gannon 12, Pitt-Johnstown 1
Pitt-Johnstown was in a 7-0 hole after two complete innings and couldn't string enough hits together to mount a comeback from that point. The Mountain Cats were limited to just a run on five hits by a combination of three Gannon arms.Â
Seven different pitchers spent time on the mound for Pitt-Johnstown. Starter Jimmy Kunst was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings of work. Antonio Caporossi pitched two innings and gave up just one run on two hits. Roman Donis, Zach Myers, Garret Holzapfel, Luke Lea and Zach Slis all faced at least two batters.
Stover helped the Mountain Cats avoid the shutout in the fourth after he walked with two outs and advanced all the way to third on back-to-back wild pitches. Noah Helms then smacked an RBI single to make it 7-1. Steinbugl added two hits for the Mountain Cats and Justin Turcovski also had a base-hit.
The Golden Knights tacked on five more runs on four hits in the sixth to cap the scoring. They closed the day 14-20 overall (7-9 PSAC).
Pitt-Johnstown will have nearly a week off after a non-conference game with Shippensburg on Tuesday, April 15 was canceled. The Mountain Cats are scheduled to host Lock Haven for a pair of games next Friday beginning at 1 p.m. from Point Stadium.
