The Pitt baseball team had hit a little bit of a midseason swoon prior to last week. The once hot Panthers had lost five of six games entering last week, but responded in a big way. Pitt defeated West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl 4-1 early in the week, and came bak and then swept No. 20 Miami.
The four-game surge improved Pitt's record to 17-10 overall with a 12-9 mark in ACC play. The Panthers jumped from fourth place in the ACC Coastal standings to tied for second, and they are now two games back behind division leading Virginia Tech.
The weekend sweep of Miami was a significant one for this program. The Panthers won their 12th ACC game of the year during the Miami series, giving the program the most conference wins since joining the league back in 2014 with 15 league games still remaining. With the win on Sunday, Pitt now owns a 6-0 record this season against Miami and Florida State, two programs that have combined for over 105 NCAA Tournament appearances and both have been mainstay powers in the ACC for years.
Pitt returns to action this week for a two-game set midweek against Limpscomb University. The Panthers have played 11 consecutive games at home, and will be playing all five games this week at Cost Field as well during this extended home stand. Over the weekend, Pitt welcomes North Carolina to town for a traditional Friday-Sunday weekend series. Let's take a look back at the historic weekend for Pitt.
Game One
Pitt 12, Miami 6
The opening game of the series was a competitive one, as the two teams traded blows in the early innings before Pitt broke the game open late thanks to a clutch grand slam from third basemen Sky Duff. The Panthers trailed 5-3 going to the bottom of the sixth before centerfielder Jordan Anderson plated a run with an RBI single, before Duff came up and launched one to right center. Reserve catcher Ramon Padilla added his first career home run, a two-run shot in the seventh to increase the lead. Pitt added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth to set the final score. Duff and Bryce Hulett both finished with three-hit games, while Nico Popa, Brock Franks, Padilla, and Anderson all had two hits apiece as the Panthers combined for 18 hits on the day. Friday starter Mitch Myers struggled a bit to his own high standards, as he allowed five runs in 5.2 innings. He struck out seven and finished with the no decision. The Pitt bullpen allowed 1 run the remaining 3.1 innings to close out the win, with Chase Smith getting the victory.
Game Two
Pitt 6, Miami 4
Pitt received some timely hitting and a strong pitching performance from Matt Gilbertson to take game two on Saturday at Cost Field. Gilbertson went seven innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He only struck out two batters, but was able to stay effective with 12 ground ball outs during the outing. After going down 1-0 early, Pitt struck for a 3-run second inning with Bryce Hulett, Jackson Phinney, and Jordan Anderson all driving in runs. Miami came right back with a two runs third to tie the game. Ron Washington drove home a run in the third, Sky Duff added an RBI double in the fourth to grab the lead. Nico Popa's RBI double in the sixth provided a much-needed insurance run.Jordan McCrum worked a scoreless eighth, but got himself in trouble in the ninth. The Hurricanes loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth and Pitt turned to Dylan Lester to protect the game, and he did just that. Lester induced a double-play ball then struck out Miami star freshman Yohandy Morales to end the game, as he represented the tying run.
Game Three
Pitt 12, Miami 5
It was another significant offensive display for the Panthers, as Pitt racked up 15 hits and generated 12 runs on Miami for the second game this series. It looked like a promising start was on the horizon as Pitt loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but came away empty. Miami then posted four runs a half inning later to give themselves an early 4-0 lead after a squandered opportunity by Pitt. The veteran Panthers got it going eventually tallying four runs in the 4th inning, and then a monster 7-run seventh inning. Pitt right fielder Nico Popa went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI, including a two-run home run in that fourth inning, his seventh on the season. Bryce Hulett's (2-4 2 RBI) grand slam in the seventh, was the second for the Panthers this series, and Hulett's second homer on the year. Ron Washington Jr. went 3-for-5, including a punctuation mark on the series with an eighth inning bomb that set the final score. Sky Duff and Jordan Anderson also had multi-hit games for the high-powered Pitt offense. Pitt starter Stephen Hansen lasted 4.2 innings and posted a no decision. In relief, Seton Hall transfer Corey Sawyer earned his first win in a Pitt uniform after 2.2 innings of work.
