GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Presbyterian College baseball team fell behind early to the Pitt Panthers and could not recover, falling in a 12-3 result at Fluor Field in Greenville.
PC moves to 7-8-1 while Pitt improves to 6-7. The two sides meet again on Wednesday in Clinton at 3 p.m.
The Panthers led 7-1 after the second inning and never gave up the lead despite a handful of late runs for the Blue Hose.
Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.), Brandon Paul (Augusta, Ga.) and Jay Lizanich (Greer, S.C.) each posted two hits. Catcher Derek Long (Alpharetta, Ga.) threw out two runners and led PC with two RBI.
Brian Kehner (Marietta, Ga.) took the loss to move to 0-3 on the year.
Pitt struck quickly for a 5-0 lead in the first inning. A bases loaded double by Casey Roche cleared the bags and scored three before a Steven Shelinsky Jr. two-run home run to left field made it 5-0 in favor of the visitors. Long gunned down a runner stealing at third to help PC keep the scoring at five.
In the bottom of the inning, PC placed two runners in scoring position with one out and cashed in with an infield single. Billy Motroni (Goose Creek, S.C.) laced a single to left and Zebedis took a pitch off the body before both advanced on a wild pitch. Paul came through by beating out a slow roller to third for a PC run, 5-1.
The Panthers added two more in the top of the second on a Shelinsky Jr. single to the outfield to lead, 7-1. Pitt loaded the bases with two outs in the next inning but Kehner forced a pop fly to get out of the jam.
A pair of two-out hits in the top of the fourth gave Pitt another run as the Panthers led by seven, 8-1. The Blue Hose loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame but could not convert as the Panthers ended the inning with a strikeout.
Weston Jackson (Greer, S.C.) made his season debut on Tuesday night in left field. The sophomore robbed Pitt of a hit to start the fifth with a leaping backwards catch on the warning track to a rousing ovation from the fans.
Freshman Ethan Wortkoetter (Greer, S.C.) entered the game in the fifth and struck out two after Jackson's catch to keep Pitt scoreless in the frame.
Wortkoetter escaped another possible scoring situation in the sixth by fanning a batter with a runner at third to end the inning.
Pittsburgh capitalized on a pair of two-out errors in the seventh for four more runs and a 12-1 lead heading into the seventh-inning stretch.
Long came through at the plate in the bottom of the eighth. With Jackson and Paul on base after a hit-by-pitch and a walk, Long ripped a single back up the middle to bring home both and cut into Pitt's lead, 12-3.
Michael Trebendis (Fayetteville, Ga.) entered the game in the eighth inning and made two strong plays defensively at third base in the top of the ninth. On the first play he saw, the sophomore ranged to his right to get the out at first and ended the inning with a perfect throw to second.
Trey Hayes (Belton, S.C.) pitched the final 2.1 innings and delivered a sterling outing, allowing zero runs and only three hits.
