JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Pitt-Johnstown forced extra innings in the opener before falling 8-6 and then bounced back with an entertaining 2-1 victory in the nightcap to split a non-conference doubleheader against Georgian Court on Friday afternoon at Point Stadium.
The Mountain Cats sit at 8-6 after logging their fourth doubleheader split of the year.
Game One—Georgian Court 8, Pitt-Johnstown 6
Pitt-Johnstown racked up a 10-6 advantage in hits in game one, but were undone by Georgian Court's two-out, two-run base-hit in the eighth that provided the difference.
After the Mountain Cats took a 5-1 lead into the sixth, Georgian Court scored five runs on two hits to forge ahead.
Karson Reffner recorded a one-out single in the seventh to give the Mountain Cats life. Lucas Muffie walked, and with two outs, pinch-hitter Jacob Cramer delivered a clutch RBI single that knotted it at 6-all.
Alex Ebeling drew a one-out walk in the seventh but was left stranded at first as Georgian Court closed it out.
Roman Donis took the loss in relief after pitching 2 2/3 innings and giving up two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts. Aiden Coleman started and threw three innings, surrendering one earned run with three strikeouts and four walks.
Reffner finished 3-for-4, including a 2-RBI double in the first that gave the Mountain Cats a 2-1 advantage. Muffie extended that lead to 3-1 in the second, when he crushed his first home run of the season.
Muffie then doubled to lead off the fourth and came around to score on a Jandel Maldonado sacrifice fly. Tate Minich drove in Reffner, who reached on an error earlier in the innings, with a bases-loaded infield single in the fifth inning to push it to 5-1.
Game Two—Pitt-Johnstown 2, Georgian Court 1
The Mountain Cats had runners aboard in each of the first four innings, but did not break through on the scoreboard until there were two outs in the fifth inning.
Muffie walked and came around to tie it at 1-all on Calvin Iseminger's RBI double. Reffner followed with what proved to be a game-winning RBI single.
Brian Pirone tossed 6 1/3 innings to earn the win on the mound, limiting Georgian Court to one run on four hits, with a season-high 11 strikeouts compared to just two walks. Baron Dionis secured the final two outs to pick up the save.
Ebeling, Reffner and Nathan Helms all notched two singles. Samir Lopez threw all six innings and took the loss for Georgian Court.
Pitt-Johnstown will wrap up its three-game series with Georgian Court at 6 p.m. Saturday at Point Stadium.
