Panthers Return to Kissimmee for Five

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will return to the Sunshine State Series, traveling to Kissimmee, Fla., for a five-game stand with Massachusetts, Butler and Saint Peter's.

The Panthers will kick things off with Massachusetts on Friday before taking on Butler and Massachusetts on Saturday. Pitt will wrap up its three games with Massachusetts on Sunday and return to the diamond on Tuesday to face Saint Peter's.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Live stat for all five games can be found here.
A live stream can be purchased here through D9 Sports.
Fans can also follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.

LEADING OFF

Pitt (5-2, 0-0 ACC) returns to the Sunshine State Series for the second time this season, facing off with Massachusetts (0-0), Butler (8-0) and Saint Peter's in a five-game, four-day weekend leading into ACC play.
The Panthers are fresh off a successful weekend at the Wofford-USC Upstate Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C., as the Panthers went 2-1 on the weekend with wins over Presbyterian and USC Upstate.
After missing the 2017 season due to NCAA transfer rules following his departure from national powerhouse Vanderbilt, Liam Sabino has paced the Panther offense hitting to a .345 clip with a .690 slugging mark, eight RBI and three homers. David Yanni leads the way with nine RBI, hitting .250 with one double and one home run.
On the mound, Blair Calvo has been lights out since returning from Tommy John surgery. He's yet to let up a run, making two starts, throwing 9.0 innings with just five hits and four walks against him, tallying 13 strikeouts. Fellow starter Matt Pidich has dominated in his redshirt senior campaign, owning a mark of 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA. He's thrown a team-high 11.2 innings of work, allowing nine hits and two walks, fanning a team-best 15.
Freshman Chase Smith has been the story out of the bullpen as the rookie has made four appearances without allowing an earned run. He's notched 8.1 innings of work, giving up just two hits and four walks, fanning seven and holding opponents to a team-best .074 batting average.

SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS

The weekend will be the first for Massachusetts as they have yet to compete in game action in 2018.
First-year head coach Mat Reynolds fields a relatively inexperienced team with 19 members in their first or second years.
Nolan Kessinger returns for his sophomore season and was the team's second-best hitter in his rookie campaign. Kessinger hit .301 in 2017, tallying 10 doubles and one trip with 16 RBI. Both Cooper Mrowka (.292) and Ryan Lever (.275) will also return for the 2018 campaign, as the team's top RBI performers. Mrowka brought around 22 runners in 2017, while Lever tallied a team-best 29 RBI.
On the mound, Massachusetts is expected to throw junior Justin Lasko in the opener. Lasko made 12 starts in 2017, competing to a record of 3-6 with a 3.69 ERA. He allowed 94 hits and 20 walks, fanning 62 and allowing a .286 opponent average. Lefty redshirt freshman Brooks Videtto will get the call on Saturday in his first collegiate action. Senior Kevin Hassett will take the mound on Sunday after amassing just three starts in 2017. He finished the year with a record of 2-3 and a 6.60 ERA. Hassett allowed 34 hits and 23 walks last season, fanning just 20 batters and allowing batters a .296 average.

SCOUTING BUTLER

Butler (8-0) enters the game with an unblemished record, rattling off eight straight wins to kick off the 2018 season. The Bulldogs have seen success on both sides of the ball as their offense enters the game hitting at a .292 team clip, with five hitters at .300 or higher. The pitchers have had early success as well, bringing in a 2.38 team ERA with three of its four starters under the 3.00 mark.
Garrett Christman, who also pitches for the Bulldogs, leads the offense with a .464 average in eight starts. He's tallied 13 hits including two doubles and one homer for a team-best 15 RBI and a.643 slugging mark. Harrison Freed has also been stellar for Butler, hitting .379 with a team-high .690 slugging mark, recording five doubles and two triples with 13 RBI.
On the mound, Christman is expected to throw against the Panthers. He's made two starts on the season for a 2-0 record with a 2.13 ERA. He's tossed a team-high 12.2 innings, allowing 10 hits and six walks, fanning 10.

SCOUTING SAINT PETER'S

The games will be the first action of the 2018 season for Saint Peter's.
It was a tough inaugural campaign for head coach Danny Ramirez in 2017 as the Peacocks went winless, tallying a record of 0-38.
Saint Peter's loses its top hitter in Paul Schifilliti but returns number two man Alex Ramos, who hit .302 last season with three doubles, two homers and four RBI. Mike Ionta, who led the team with 22 RBI, will be sorely missed as the Peacocks lost a significant chuck of their offense, which hit .241 as a squad last season.
Left-handed Jared Quintero is expected to get the call against the Panthers. He did not pitch last season.

SERIES WITH MASSACHUSETTS

The weekend will be the first-ever meetings between the Panthers and Minutemen.

SERIES WITH BUTLER

The game will be just the second meeting between the Panthers and Bulldogs in a series dating back to the 2014 season.
Pitt won the inaugural matchup by a score of 15-7 on Feb. 21, 2014.

SERIES WITH SAINT PETER'S

Tuesday's game will be the first-ever meeting between the Panthers and Peacocks.
Pitt and Saint Peter's were scheduled to play a pair of games last season at Charles L. Cost Field but both were cancelled due to inclement weather.

WHO'S STREAKING

Alex Amos saw his 20+ game hit streak come to an end at the Wofford-USC Upstate Tournament, as David Yanni's mark of six is now the team best.
Amos' reached base streak is still alive, however, as he sits at 24 games. Yanni checks in at 13, while Cole MacLaren has reached in seven straight to kick off his Panther career.

UP NEXT

The Panthers kick off ACC play next weekend, taking on the Hokies of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., March 9-11.
Pitt will make its home debut on Tuesday, hosting Youngstown State at 3 p.m.

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