Pitt-Johnstown rolled to a 5-0 shutout victory in game one before holding on late for a 4-3 win in the nightcap to celebrate Senior Day with a PSAC West doubleheader sweep over Edinboro on Friday afternoon.
The Mountain Cats secured their first twin bill sweep of the season and improved to 8-26 (5-15 PSAC). Before the first pitch, senior catcher and first baseman Julia Mooney and shortstop Hannah Gnibus were recognized for their four years of dedication to the program.
Game One—Pitt-Johnstown 5, Edinboro 0
Seven different Mountain Cats recorded at least one hit in the opener. It was more than enough firepower to support junior hurler Mia Smith, who gave up just four hits with four strikeouts and one walk in a complete-game gem.
After Gnibus was hit by a pitch and Meghan McDonough laid down a perfect bunt single, Smith helped herself one batter later by stroking an RBI single. With two outs, Gianna Surra made it 2-0 with a base-hit to right.
That score held up until the fifth when the Mountain Cats tacked on two more. Mooney led off with a single and moved up after Isabella DePalma singled with one out. Surra then roped a two-RBI double to the left-center gap that extended it to 4-0.
Following Krista Brunson and Gnibus were granted free passes to lead off the sixth, McDonough slapped an RBI single to cap the scoring. The sophomore outfielder finished with three hits.
Game Two—Pitt-Johnstown 4, Edinboro 3
Smith's dominance in the circle carried over into the evening. She threw the first four innings to earn the win, allowing just one earned run on two hits with a strikeout. Mahlon Yonkin secured the save after allowing just two runs on six hits with no walks in three innings of relief.
The Mountain Cats had just four hits but needed just two of them to get runs across. Gnibus led off with a single and scored one batter later when Mooney reached on a fielder's choice and eventually scored with the help of an error.
Edinboro tallied a run in the second that made it 2-1, but just one inning later, Pitt-Johnstown struck for two more that ended up being the winning runs.
Brunson, who notched two hits, led off with an infield single and Gnibus reached on an error. After a groundout, Mooney picked up two more RBIs with a sacrifice fly that scored Brunson and Gnibus, who scored from second base.
Edinboro had four hits and scored a pair of runs in the seventh, but Yonkin sealed the game with a strikeout. Grace Kessel suffered the loss in the circle for Edinboro, which dropped to 7-25 overall (6-14 PSAC).
Pitt-Johnstown will visit Slippery Rock for another PSAC West doubleheader on Monday beginning at 2 p.m.
