ACC Coastal Standings
1. Miami 16-5, 31-9
2. Virginia Tech 12-7, 28-9
3. Virginia 13-8, 31-10
4. Pitt 10-10 22-16
5. Georgia Tech 10-11, 25-16
6. North Carolina 8-13, 23-17
7. Duke 8-13, 18-22
Weekly recap
April 20: West Virginia (PNC Park), Loss 3-1 (11)
April 22: Miami, Loss 2-1 (10)
April 23: Miami Loss 17-2
April 24: Miami, Win 9-4
The Pitt baseball team picked up just one win this past week, but it was an important one as they fought off being swept by ACC Coastal leader Miami. The Panthers now own a 10-10 record in league play and remain in the running to add an at-large big in the NCAA Tournament, though there is still plenty of work to do.
The Backyard Brawl took center stage at PNC Park this week on Wednesday afternoon, after it was postponed a day due to inclement weather on Tuesday. Pitt and West Virginia battled for 11 innings, but hit was the Mountaineers to outlast the Panthers by a score of 3-2. Mike Bell’s team has been fighting the injury bug of late and it was evident in this midweek matchup. Using a shuffled lineup, the Panthers only collected three hits in 11 innings. The team combined for 14 strikeouts, and were not able to cash in on drawing 12 walks by West Virginia pitchers, resulting in 13 runners left on base.
Jeffrey Wehler launched a double to right field in the bottom of the fifth and came home on a Tatem Levins base knock to tie the game in the fifth. Dom Popa’s RBI triple in the sixth was Pitt’s only other hit of the game to make it 2-2. Pitt was not able to cash in any further despite having multiple opportunities.
The Pitt pitching staff did more than enough to keep the team around, but the offensive output wasted that performance. Pitt used seven pitchers and they combined for 11 strikeouts and scattered seven hits over the game.
Pitt then traveled to Coral Gables over the weekend to take on fifth-ranked Miami. It was a classic pitcher’s duel as Pitt Friday night starter Matt Gilbertson went eight strong innings, struck out seven, did not issue a walk, and allowed one run on six hits. Ht was matched by Miami starter Carson Palmquist, who struck out 11 over 5 1/3 and did not allow a run.
Miami grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly in the second. That score held until the top of the ninth when Brock Franks launched a home run to right to tie it and force extras.
Despite two hits and two Miami errors in the top of the 10th, Pitt could not get anything home, and Miami came back in the bottom half of the inning to walk it off.
Pitt’s Saturday game with Miami was not much of a contest. The Hurricanes led 4-1 after an inning, and were up 11-1 by the end of the fourth. Pitt starter Logan Evans gave up four earned in three innings of work, and receiver Quin Konuszewski was tagged for five earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning.
One of Pitt’s five hits was a Ron Washington Jr. home run in the bottom of the first, a welcomed addition back to the lineup after the Panthers slugger has missed multiple games in the past week with a hamstring injury.
Pitt then turned to Billy Corcoran to salvage the series on Sunday, and the junior right-hander did just that. He went seven innings, struck out seven, walked one, and allowed one run on just three hits.
Pitt jumped all over Miami early. Catcher Tatem Levins hit a home run in the first and second innings as the Panthers raced out to a 6-0 lead through two innings.
Jordan Anderson’s single in the sixth, and Josh Overbeek’s base hit in the ninth added insurance runs late in the game. Baron Stuart closed out the game, but did allow three runs in his two innings of work.
Top hitter of the week
Tatem Levins
Pitt catcher Tatem Levins was key in Pitt’s lone win this week with a pair of home runs. Despite a lot of injuries around the team right now, Levins has remained a mainstay in the lineup. He leads the team in hits (45), home runs (13), and runs batted in (39). The LaSalle transfer was expected to be a big part of the team this year, but he has likely exceeded those expectations. His bat is a big part of this team’s recent run of success.
Top pitcher of the week
Billy Corcoran
Pretty much Corcoran and Gilberston take turns alternating this honor each week, and really you could make a case for both of them this week. I’ll give the slight edge to Corcoran, but he had the benefit of run support this week, as Gilberston did not.
Corcoran continues to be a dominant force for the Panthers on Sundays. He went seven strong and strong out eight against a formidable Miami lineup. The junior right hander has won his last four decisions and has gone six innings in each of those outings and has only issued two walks.
Jumping in the RPI
Despite just a 1-3 week, the Panthers jumped from 47 to 41 in the most recent RPI rankings. In showing the strength of the ACC, Pitt is 11h in its own league in RPI. The Panthers are battling to make the postseason, and hovering inside the top 50 is huge, and getting down inside the top 40 would be even bigger. By most accounts, Pitt was likely the first team left our of the tournament a year ago, so every little data point is key for this team.
Returning from injury
Ron Washington Jr. made his return to the lineup this weekend, and that was a welcomed sight for a Pitt team struggling on offense. Kyle Hess made another pinch running appearance. Jordan Anderson returned to the lineup, as did Brock Franks. Pitt is still missing Hess full-time, as well as right fielder CJ Funk, and third basemen Sky Duff.
Some pop from Popa
The mounting injuries created more playing time for others, and sophomore outfielder Dom Popa had a nice week. The Pittsburgh native notched a triple playing in PNC Park against West Virginia. He also went 3-for-3 on Saturday, and produced an RBI single in Sunday’s win over Miami.
The Week ahead
Friday April 29: North Carolina A&T, 6:00 p.m.
Saturday April 30: North Carolina A&T, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday May 1: North Carolina A&T, 1:00 p.m.
Pitt has a little breather this week from the grind of the ACC. The Panthers do not have a midweek game on the schedule and will welcome North Carolina A&T for a weekend series. The Aggies are out of the Big South Conference and bring a 12-26 (1-14) record into this series. North Carolina A&T has an RPI rank of 258 out of 301 Division-1 teams. Pitt needs to take care of business this weekend and avoid adding a bad loss to its resume.
