ACC Coastal Standings
1. Miami 17-7, 35-12
2. Virginia Tech 14-8, 33-10
3. Virginia 14-10, 34-12
4. Pitt 12-11, 26-19
5. Georgia Tech 12-15, 27-21
6. North Carolina 10-14, 27-18
7. Duke 9-15, 20-26

Weekly recap
May 4: Oakland, Loss 8-4
May 7: Duke, Win 14-4
May 8: Duke, Win 3-2
May 8: Duke, Loss 15-5

The Pitt baseball team has grabbed some impressive wins throughout the 2022 season that has kept them in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid. One of the major things holding them back has been bad losses, and the Panthers were not able to avoid one of those to start the week.

Due to inclement weather, the two-game midweek series against Oakland was reduced to one game and the Golden Grizzlies, a team with an RPI in the 200s knocked off Pitt 8-4.

It was a back and forth game all day, but Pitt managed to push ahead 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh when Ron Washington Jr. clobbered a home run. Oakland tagged Baron Stuart for four runs in the ninth inning to take the 8-4 advantage, and Pitt never really threatened in the bottom of the inning handing the team a frustrating defeat.

The Panthers came back on the weekend to host divisional foe Duke for a three game set. Mother Nature pushed Friday’s game to Saturday, and forced a doubled header on Sunday.

Pitt handed the ball to its ace, and he delivered like he has all season. Matt Gilbertson worked seven innings, allowed two runs on five hits, while sticking out six. It was another dominant performance for the right hander from Nevada.

The Pitt bats rolled in this one. The Panthers chased Duke starter Jonathan Santucci after three innings. Brock Franks launched a home ruin in the second. CJ Funk and Jack Anderson each had run producing singles in the third to give Pitt a 6-0 advantage.

Duke’s Alex Stone hit a two-run bomb off of Gilberton to make it 6-2, but the Pitt bats picked him up right away. Bryce Hulett had a two-run base hit in the bottom of the inning, and then Pitt posted a six-run inning in the seventh to put it out of reach.

Jeffrey Fehler went 4-for-6 with three runs scored and three runs batted in from the leadoff spot. Hulett had a three hit game, while Tatem Levins, Jack Anderson, and Jordan Anderson all had two hits apiece in the series opener, part of a 15-hit attack from the Panthers.

Pitt and Duke met on Sunday morning with an 11:00 a.m first pitch. The Panthers turned to Billy Corcoran in hopes of grabbing another ACC series win, and the big right-hander delivered. Corcoran went six innings, allowed one unearned run on six hits while fanning 8 batters and issuing just one free pass.

This weekend marked the return of third basemen Sky Duff to the lineup, and the veteran picked up right where he left off. His second inning RBI single extended his on-base streak to 56 games and gave Pitt an early advantage.

Brock Franks produced a sacrifice fly in the second, and Jordan Anderson actually scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to represent all of Pitt’s scoring in this one. The Panthers made those runs count.

Duke got one back in the fifth on a Ben LaSpaluto base hit off of Corocran. IN the 8th, the Blue Devils really threatened. After a pair of singles to lead off the inning, reliever Baron Stuart walked two batters with two outs, bringing one run home. Stuart eventually struck Chris Crabtree to leave the bases juiced, and avoid a late game collapse.

Offense was at a premium for Pitt, as the Panthers mustered just four hits with Duff collecting two of them. Pitt did draw eight walks and had two guys reach on a hit by pitch in this one, totaling nine runners left on base for the game.

In the second half of the double header on Sunday, Pitt’s woes with its third starter continued. The 1-2 punch of Gilbertson and Corcoran has been fantastic all year long, but the third game in a weekend series has been an adventure all season long and this game was no different. Logan Evans lasted three innings and allowed six runs (four earned) off of six hits. He was relieved by Ben Dragani, who gave up four runs in 2/3s of an inning. CJ McKennitt allowed two runs and did not record an out either. All in all, the poor pitching led to Duke grabbing a 13-2 lead after five innings.

Duff extended his streak with a pair of hits. Dom Popa and Tommy Tavarez each had RBI doubles in the seventh, but the game was well out of reach. It was a series win for the Panthers, but it ended on a sour note.

Top hitter of the week

Sky Duff
Pitt got its starting third basemen back into the lineup this weekend, and he provided an instant boost to the offense. The junior from New Jersey went 5-for-10 against the Blue Devils, including a three-hit game in the series finale. He drew three walks on Saturday as well. His on-base streak is currently at an astonishing 57 games. Duff also scored three runs and drove a pair of them in as well.

Top pitcher of the week

Matt Gilbertson
The senior right hander has been Pitt’s workhorse all year and he got the series off on the right foot yet again on Saturday afternoon. He worked seven innings and struck out six. Gilbertson allowed a two-run homer, and to illustrate how good he has been, it’s his first home run allowed in over a month. Since his start against Virginia Tech on March 18th, Gilbertson has gone at least six innings in all eight off his starts and Pitt is 7-1 in those contests. For the season, Gilbertson is now 8-2 with a 2.61 ERA. He has 78 strikeouts to just 11 walks in 79.1 innings of work.

The week ahead

Tuesday May 10: @West Virginia, 6:30 p.m.
Friday May 13: @Notre Dame, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday May 14: @Notre Dame, 4:00 p.m.
Sunday May 15: @Notre Dame, noon

After a lengthy home stand, Pitt hits the road for all four games this week. Pitt and West Virginia will conclude the Backyard Brawl series in Morgantown on Tuesday night. Pitt won 9-6 on March 30th at home. The Mountaineers got revenge on April 20th with a 3-2 decision at PNC Park. WVU has an RPI of 39, so it gives Pitt a chance to pick up a marquee win.

Over the weekend, Pitt heads to South Bend to take on a very good Notre Dame team. The Fighting Irish had an RPI of 11, and have been in the top 25 all season long. They are coming off a series win over Boston College this past weekend.