Saturday, March 24
Pittsburgh, Pa.
3 PM
Pitt
12-8, 2-6-0
8
vs
7
Duke
19-5, 5-3-0
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4
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7
8
9
R
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E
Duke
2
0
0
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2
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7
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Pittsburgh
0
0
1
4
2
0
1
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X
8
11
0
Panthers Take Down No. 19 Duke, 8-7
3/24/2018 7:32:00 PM | Baseball
Banman Homers as Panthers Stun Nationally-Ranked Blue Devils
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team defeated No. 19 Duke 8-7 in game two of the three-game tilt Saturday afternoon, to even up the series at Charles L. Cost Field.
"It was a solid baseball game today, I thought it was a game that we really needed to win," head coach Joe Jordano said. "We got off to a tough start but Matt [Pidich] settled down, did a great job for us. We strung some good at bats together, scored some runs, and extended the lead a little bit. Obviously Duke, being a very good and dangerous team, they fought back and made it a heck of a game there at the end. We had to hang on. That was a game we had to get under our belts. It puts us in a position to win the series tomorrow."
Duke (19-5, 5-3 ACC) would score two early on, but the Panthers would soon erase that deficit. Nico Popa was the first to get on the board for Pitt (12-8, 2-6 ACC), crossing the plate off of a David Yanni sac fly in the third.
The Panthers broke out offensively in the fourth, scoring four and taking their first lead of the series. After a Frank Maldonado double and a single from Nick Banman, Popa would rip a single up the middle allowing Maldonado to tie the game. Cole MacLaren was walked to load the bases, and Banman would score courtesy of a single from Alex Amos. Liam Sabino flew out to center to score Popa, and Yanni would single to score MacLaren, as the inning came to a close with Pitt on top 5-2.
After Duke added a run in the fifth, Banman smashed a two-run home run, his second of the season, to extend the Panthers' lead to four. The Blue Devils would respond again in the seventh, scoring two, but Pitt would get a run back after Banman doubled to score Ron Washington Jr., who had stolen second after being walked.
Another two-run inning allowed Duke to pull within one, but the Panthers would hold the Blue Devils off to capture the win.
Redshirt senior Matt Pidich (3-1), pitched 6.1 innings, his longest outing of the season, striking out four and only walking two. Yaya Chentouf (2-0) would come in to the game in the seventh to lock down the save, his fourth of the season.
Offensively, Banman was the highlight, going 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, jacking a two-run shot and tallying a double. Maldonado continues to dazzle, as he is hitting .522 over his last six games, going 2-5 on Saturday, adding a run. Amos also posted a multi-hit game, going 2-5 with an RBI.
The Panthers and Blue Devils return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Notes: Pitt is now 8-10-0 all-time against Duke and 7-5-0 against the Blue Devils in ACC play … David Yanni extended his team-best reached base streak to 30 games dating back to the 2016 season.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
"It was a solid baseball game today, I thought it was a game that we really needed to win," head coach Joe Jordano said. "We got off to a tough start but Matt [Pidich] settled down, did a great job for us. We strung some good at bats together, scored some runs, and extended the lead a little bit. Obviously Duke, being a very good and dangerous team, they fought back and made it a heck of a game there at the end. We had to hang on. That was a game we had to get under our belts. It puts us in a position to win the series tomorrow."
Duke (19-5, 5-3 ACC) would score two early on, but the Panthers would soon erase that deficit. Nico Popa was the first to get on the board for Pitt (12-8, 2-6 ACC), crossing the plate off of a David Yanni sac fly in the third.
The Panthers broke out offensively in the fourth, scoring four and taking their first lead of the series. After a Frank Maldonado double and a single from Nick Banman, Popa would rip a single up the middle allowing Maldonado to tie the game. Cole MacLaren was walked to load the bases, and Banman would score courtesy of a single from Alex Amos. Liam Sabino flew out to center to score Popa, and Yanni would single to score MacLaren, as the inning came to a close with Pitt on top 5-2.
After Duke added a run in the fifth, Banman smashed a two-run home run, his second of the season, to extend the Panthers' lead to four. The Blue Devils would respond again in the seventh, scoring two, but Pitt would get a run back after Banman doubled to score Ron Washington Jr., who had stolen second after being walked.
Another two-run inning allowed Duke to pull within one, but the Panthers would hold the Blue Devils off to capture the win.
Redshirt senior Matt Pidich (3-1), pitched 6.1 innings, his longest outing of the season, striking out four and only walking two. Yaya Chentouf (2-0) would come in to the game in the seventh to lock down the save, his fourth of the season.
Offensively, Banman was the highlight, going 3-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, jacking a two-run shot and tallying a double. Maldonado continues to dazzle, as he is hitting .522 over his last six games, going 2-5 on Saturday, adding a run. Amos also posted a multi-hit game, going 2-5 with an RBI.
The Panthers and Blue Devils return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Notes: Pitt is now 8-10-0 all-time against Duke and 7-5-0 against the Blue Devils in ACC play … David Yanni extended his team-best reached base streak to 30 games dating back to the 2016 season.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pidich, Matt (3-1)
L: Mitch Stallings (2-2)
S: Chentouf, Yaya (4)
Batting:
HR: Zack Kone 1 ; Joey Loperfido 1
RBI: Jimmy Herron 2 ; Chris Proctor 1 ; Zack Kone 3 ; Joey Loperfido 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jimmy Herron 1 ; Zack Kone 1 ; Joey Loperfido 2 ; Max Miller 2 ; Steve Mann 1
HBP: Chris Proctor 1 ; Max Miller 1
Batting:
2B: Maldonado, Frank 1 ; Banman, Nick 1
HR: Banman, Nick 1
RBI: Amos, Alex 1 ; Sabino, Liam 1 ; Yanni, David 2 ; Banman, Nick 3 ; Popa, Nico 1
SH: MacLaren, Cole 1
SF: Sabino, Liam 1 ; Yanni, David 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Maldonado, Frank 1 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 2 ; Banman, Nick 2 ; Popa, Nico 2 ; MacLaren, Cole 1
SB: Sabino, Liam 3
CS: Maldonado, Frank 1
HBP: Popa, Nico 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
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H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
RHP/OF
/ Baseball
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/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
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