Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer
#

Baseball Opens Home Slate With Sweep of Pitt-Bradford

Baseball Opens Home Slate With Sweep of Pitt-Bradford

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Pitching and small ball proved a potent combination for the Ursinus College baseball team, which stretched its winning streak to five games with a doubleheader sweep of Pitt-Bradford in Saturday's home opener.

Senior Sean Pisik spun seven masterful innings to stymie the Panthers in a 3-0 Game One final, and the Bears (11-4) used a heavy dose of the bunt to break open a tight battle and pull away for a 7-1 triumph in the nightcap on a cloudy, chilly afternoon at Thomas Field.

Piski struck out nine to just one walk and allowed only four hits in improving to 3-0 on the season with another dominant performance on the mound. The right-hander posted four 1-2-3 frames in making sure some early run support stood up.

Senior Chris Jablonski doubled home junior Jose Colon with one out in the first, and junior Kieran Geyer doubled the lead with an RBI groundout in the second; that scored freshman Carter Usowski, who led off the inning with a base hit and stole second before advancing to third on a sacrifice.

The Bears padded their advantage with a run-scoring single by junior Alex Campbell in the sixth, and Pisik and two relivers did the rest. Sophomore Pierce Greenleaf worked a scoreless eighth, and junior Seth Regensburg struck out two in a perfect ninth for his second save in as many days.

Usowski finished 2-for-4 with a run scored for the Bears.

Despite allowing only a single run, Ursinus needed five pitchers to get through Game Two and worked in and out of trouble all afternoon. The Panthers stranded 15 baserunners, unable to capitalize on eight walks and three bean balls.

While Pitt-Bradford (3-7) was squandering its opportunities, the Bears made the most of their scoring chances. Jablonski opened the scoring again, digging out a low pitch and lacing an RBI single into right field. He immediately stole second and came around to score on back-to-back wild pitches, staking the home side to a 2-0 lead.

Geyer's infield hit and an error plated freshman Barron Natelli to make it 3-0 in the second. The Panthers pulled one back in the third, but freshman David Drea left the bags full to keep the Bears in the driver's seat.

Ursinus went to the bunt to break it open in the bottom of the frame. After a one-out double by junior Austin Feuerman, classmate Austin Kurey moved him to third with a bunt single, and fellow junior Vincent Terry brought him home with a perfectly placed bunt to the right side.

Usowski's two-run double to the gap in right center swelled the lead to 6-1, and Geyer capped the scoring with a well-executed squeeze.

The Panthers stranded two in the fifth and two more in the ninth, and a 6-4-3 double play quelled a potential threat in the eighth.

Drea overcame six walks to work into the fourth, and juniors Connor McCarthy and Connor Moriarty combined to pitch the next 4.2 frames. Moriarty (2-0) earned the win with three innings of scoreless relief, surrendering two hits.

Junior Brandon Weidenfeld came on with two on and one out in the ninth and got consecutive strikeouts to polish off the Bears' seventh victory in their last eight games.

Jablonski went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.

Ursinus welcomes TCNJ to Thomas Field for a single game on Thursday, March 24.