The Pitt baseball team continued to impress on the diamond over the weekend. The team that has yet to play a home game took two out of three from Virginia in Charlottesville to improve to 11-5 on the season. The Panthers hold an 8-4 mark in ACC play, which puts them in a three-way tie for first place atop the Coastal Division along with North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
The series was delayed a day due to inclement weather, so on Monday morning the Panthers climbed to No. 14 in the Baseball America Top 25 rankings, the highest ranking ever in program history. Pitt also checked in at No. 15 in D1Baseball.com and No. 16 for Perfect Game. The Panthers lost the final game of the series later in the day to put a slight damper on the achievements in the rankings.
Pitt will finally play a game on Pennsylvania soil this week with the home opener against Bucknell on Wednesday, and a weekend set with No. 22 Virginia Tech slated for this weekend. Here is a look back at the weekend that was for Mike Bell's squad.
Game One
Pitt 2, Virginia 1
The 2021 Pitt baseball team has displayed the ability to win games with their bats, or pitching. As the Panthers made their way to Charlottesville this past weekend, it was the pitching that stole the show. Pitt starter Mitch Myers pitched a complete game, scattered three hits, allowed one run, and struck out five in another impressive outing for the junior hurler from Alabama. Myers had a 13 strikeout game against Florida State earlier this season and has been the Panthers ace with a 2.56 ERA through five starts. Virginia plated a run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly, but that was all the Cavaliers could muster. Pitt second basemen David Yanni clobbered his sixth home run of the season in the fourth inning. Pitt first basemen Bryce Hulett plated Ron Washington with a single in sixth and Myers held it down from there for a Panthers victory. It was Pitt's first win as a ranked team since the 2013 season.
Game Two
Pitt 6, Virginia 2
The Panthers rode another dominant pitching performance to earn the series win on Sunday afternoon. Matt Gilbertson went 8 strong innings, struck out five, and allowed two runs on five hits. Gilbertson got himself into some trouble in the 8th inning. He allowed a home run, and Virginia put two more on base, but Pitt coach Mike Bell trusted his junior starter to work out of the jam, and he induced a soft ground ball to end his day. The Pitt bats were a little more active on Sunday. Senior centerfielder Nico Popa paced the offense with a 3-for-5 game at the plate, and mashed a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Pitt a lead. Ron Washington and David Yanni each had run-producing hits in the third inning to get things going. The Panthers added insurance runs in the 8th with a Popa RBI single, and a Kyle Hess sac fly. Monmouth transfer Jordan McCrum worked a scoreless ninth to finish the game.
Game Three
Virginia 10, Pitt 4
Monday started on a high note for Pitt, as the Panthers climbed to No. 14 in the rankings, but it was short lived. Virginia is typically a power in the ACC and the Cavaliers were picked to finish second in the ACC Coastal this season, though it has been a less than ideal start this season with a 9-10 record so far. Pitt struck first on Monday, with David Yanni connecting on his seventh home run on the year and second of the series. Virginia struck for three runs in the third, and another in the fourth which ultimately chased Pitt starter Stephen Hansen. Pitt grabbed two runs in the fifth on a throwing error, and tied it at 4-all in the sixth inning on a Brock Franks (3-for-4) base hit. That was the last run of the day for the Panthers, as Virginia plated four in the seventh, and two in the eighth to set the final. In addition to Franks, Sky Duff also had a multi-hit afternoon as he went 2-for-5.
