Bethany, WV -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford baseball team opened its season on Friday with a doubleheader at Bethany. The Panthers struggled to find timely hits and stop Bethany's rallies, losing both games. They dropped the opener 5-2, and the nightcap 7-3.

Game 1: Bethany 5 - Pitt-Bradford 2

In the opener, the Panthers struck first with 2 runs in the 4th, but allowed 5 unanswered to close the game, falling 5-2.

Following a quiet 1st, both teams threatened to score in the 2nd. Kenny Nickson III drew a 2-out walk, and then moved to 2nd when Seth Helgert singled into left. Alan Compres was next to the plate and hit a high fly to left, but it was caught on the warning track to end the frame. In the bottom half, starting pitcher Collin Porter hit the leadoff batter, but then retired the next two on a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout. With two down, he allowed a single to center, but Trent Bielak came up firing and threw the runner out at the plate.

Pitt-Bradford finally opened the scoring in the 4th. Noah Avey led off the frame with a double to left, and then came around to score when Bielak reached on an error. After a walk and a double play, Helgert dropped a single into center to drive in Bielak and put the Panthers up 2-0.

Porter was unable to hold onto the lead in the bottom half. He allowed a leadoff home run and then a pair of singles. Following a sacrifice bunt, Porter induced a fly ball to right, and Bielak's throw to the plate got away from Avey, allowing both runners to score and put the Bison ahead.

Grant Casses led off the 5th with a single, but was left stranded on third to end the inning. Porter went back out to the mound for the bottom half and struck out the leadoff hitter, but was removed after the next batter reached on a single to right. He was replaced by Ethan Zimmerman, who loaded the bases with another single and a walk before striking out the next batter for the second out. He nearly got out of the inning unscathed, but could not put away the next batter, walking in a run. An error on the next play allowed a second to score in the frame before Zimmerman ended the inning with a fly ball to center.

While Zimmerman posted a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 6th, the Panther offense was unable to get anything going, as the final 6 Pitt-Bradford batters were retired.

Collin Porter (0-1) picked up the loss after allowing 4 runs, 3 earned, in 4.1 innings. He struck out 4. Ethan Zimmerman pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing 1 unearned run, while striking out a pair. Seth Helgert led the Pitt-Bradford offense, going 2 for 3 with the only RBI for the Panthers. Noah Avey hit a double and scored a run, while Grant Casses also had a hit.

Game 2: Bethany 7 - Pitt-Bradford 3

In the second game of the double dip, Pitt-Bradford fell behind early and could not erase the deficit, falling 7-3.

The hosts took the lead in the bottom of the first, as starter Patrick Synan allowed a 2-out, solo home run. The Bison put two more runners on in the frame, but Synan escaped further damage with his third strikeout of the inning.

The Panthers got the run right back in the bottom of the inning. Alex Colwell led off with an infield single and then moved to second on an error in the infield. Braden Meadows was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Colwell scampered home on a wild pitch. The Panthers were unable to come up with a big hit, however, as the next two batters went down on strikes to strand runners on 2nd and 3rd. 

Synan used a double play and a pop-up to post a shutdown inning in the 2nd, but the Panthers went down in order in the 3rd as well. 

Bethany broke the game open in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring 4 times. Synan walked the leadoff batter and then, after a single, gave up a double to drive in a pair of runs. After a flyout and a single, the Panthers allowed two more runs to score on a pair of errors.

Pitt-Bradford battled back in the next inning, cutting the lead in half. Colwell led off the inning with a single and then scored when Meadows doubled to right. Following a strikeout, Grant Casses hit the second double of the inning into the gap, driving in Meadows.

In the bottom half, Synan nearly posted another shutdown inning. He retired the first two batters, but then allowed three consecutive singles, which brought in two more runs. He was replaced by Carter Leviski after the runs scored, who ended the frame with a strikeout.

The Panthers went down quietly in the next two innings, but Leviski was able to keep the deficit at four. In the 7th, Alex Ognen hit a leadoff single, but was quickly erased by a 6-4-3 double play. Avey extended the game with a single down the left field line, but the contest ended a batter later with a groundout.

Patrick Synan (0-1) got the loss after allowing 7 runs, 3 earned, in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out 4. Carter Leviski threw 2.1 shutout innings, allowing 1 hit, while striking out two. Alex Colwell went 2 for 3 and scored 2 runs. Braden Meadows reached on all three of his plate appearances, as he was hit by a pitch, drew a walk, and hit a double. Grant Casses also hit an RBI double. 

The Panthers begin the season with a 0-2 record. They will look to get even with the Bison on Saturday, as they have another doubleheader in Bethany. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.