Pitt
Akron
Panther Baseball Falls In Heartbreaker To Akron, 3-2
5/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 9, 2001
AKRON, Ohio--Despite a complete game, six-hitter from senior Greg Paul, Pittsburgh's baseball team dropped a 3-2 decision to Akron Wednesday afternoon at Lee Jackson Field. The loss, which was the Panthers seventh straight, slipped their record to 16-25.
Paul (Ellwood City, Pa./Riverside) went the distance and notched his first complete game of the season, striking out five Zips and scattering six hits. Only two of the three runs he gave up were earned.
With the score knotted at 2-2, Akron scored the winning run in the bottom eighth inning thanks to a Panther error. Ty Moorhead led off the inning with a bunt single. The next Zip batter, Steve Bowers, sacrificed Moorhead to second and he continued to third when the base was left uncovered. Then, Pittsburgh first baseman Brant Colamarino (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) made an ill-advised throw to third, which sailed high and allowed Moorhead to dart home with the eventual game-winner.
Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the top of the second when Scott Folmar (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) roped a two-out double. One batter later, Eric Ackerman (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) laced an RBI-single to center field to score Folmar.
After Akron pulled even in the fourth inning, the Panthers regained the lead in the fifth as Brad Rea (Gibsonia, Pa./North Allegheny) hit a sacrifice fly, which scored Darrin Lenhart (Allentown, Pa./William Allen), who had earlier doubled.
Pittsburgh tallied eight hits in the game, including three extra-base hits. In the seventh inning, Colamarino ripped a leadoff double, his team-leading 17th of the year, which broke Pittsburgh's single-season mark for doubles. The sophomore broke Joe DeBernardis' record from 1995.
Justin Lucas earned the win for Akron, pitching 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.
The Panthers close out their non-conference slate on Thursday as they travel to Niagara for a make-up game at 3 p.m. Pittsburgh then hosts Virginia Tech this weekend for a season-ending, three-game series at Trees Field.
