The Pitt-Johnstown baseball season is more than halfway through, and the players look to make a final push in the second half to get earn a chance to play in the Division II tournament in May.
The Mountain Cats took to the field against the University of Charleston in a doubleheader on April 2 and came away winning the first, but, in the second game, let an eight-run lead get away, losing by one run.
In the first game, sophomore right-handed pitcher Nate Pope improved his perfect record to three wins, pitching a complete game allowing only four hits. Pope struck out six players in the game and did not walk any batters.
Junior outfielder Brett Marabito said the team has had a good pitching year.
“The staff has done a great job keeping us in games.”
“They’re throwing a lot of strikes and just letting the defense do their job.”
The second game of the doubleheader started well for the Mountain Cats jumping out to an early eight run lead after one inning, but let Charleston eat away at the lead before tying it in the last inning of the game.
Charleston won the game in the seventh inning with a walk off hit, beating the Mountain Cats 11-10.
The team is currently leading the conference in batting with a .354 team average and team ERA with an 4.99 team average.
The Mountain Cats still need to focus more, according to junior catcher Kyle Marrow, losing the second game of a doubleheader three times this season.
“We need to play every game like we can’t lose because that’s what it is coming down to. We have to start sweeping teams so we can make the tournament,” said Marrow.
The Mountain Cats are currently 16-11 overall and 7-8 in the conference. The team is sixth in the conference’s North Division.
The team is to play a three-game series against Wheeling Jesuit on Saturday and Sunday, and the team looks to finish the season strong using the past few losses as a learning experience, according to Marabito.
“We all know what we are capable of, and we feel confident that we can make it to the conference tournament,” said Marabito