Friday, March 9
Blacksburg, VA
1 PM
Pitt
at
Virginia Tech
Pitt Gets ACC Play Underway at Virginia Tech
3/8/2018 4:58:00 PM | Baseball
Panthers Ride Five-Game Win Streak into League Action
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will get ACC action underway this weekend, traveling to Virginia Tech for a three-game, two-day outing with the Hokies.
Pitt and Virginia Tech will square off in a single game on Friday at 1 p.m. and follow that with a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one will take place at noon with game two slated for 45 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Pitt and Virginia Tech will square off in a single game on Friday at 1 p.m. and follow that with a doubleheader on Saturday. Game one will take place at noon with game two slated for 45 minutes following the conclusion of the first game.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats for all three games can be found here.
- All three games will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
- Fans can also follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Tickets for all three games can be purchased here.
- Construction at English Field at Union Park is still ongoing. Updated visitor's guide information is available here.
- Pitt (10-2, 0-0 ACC) gets ACC play underway this weekend, traveling to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech (6-7, 0-0- ACC) in a three-game series.
- The Panthers head into the weekend coming off of a dominating 21-1 win against St. Peter's in the finale of the Sunshine State Classic. Pitt went undefeated (5-0) in the five-game tournament, including a series sweep of UMass, and is off to its best start since the 2002 season.
- Offensively, Liam Sabino has been a force for the Panthers in his first season since transferring from national powerhouse Vanderbilt. Sabino is hitting at a .378 clip through 12 games, tallying a team-high 15 RBI, including five homers. He owns a .756 slug percentage and a.482 on base mark. Returning to the lineup after missing the 2017 season due to injury, David Yanni has been a significant contributor as well, sitting at .316 with 12 RBI and three extra base knocks. Sophomore Alex Amos is also hitting above the .300 mark, owning a .308 average. As a team, Pitt is hitting .269 on the season.
- Derek West will get the start on Friday, with redshirt senior Matt Pidich set to go Saturday and redshirt junior Blair Calvo getting the start on Sunday. West gave a strong performance in the opener against UMass, allowing only one walk and three hits and striking out seven batters, a career best. Pidich is off to a commanding start this season, with a 2-0 record and a 1.02 ERA while also throwing a team high 17.2 innings. Calvo has been just as successful, having yet to give up a run in three starts.
- Freshman Chase Smith continues to impress out of the bullpen. Smith has yet to allow an earned run, and has only given up three hits while holding opponents to a team best .086 average. RJ Freure leads the Panthers in strikeouts with 25 as well as ERA with a 0.71. He ranks second in the NCAA with a 17.76 strikeouts per nine innings mark.
- Virginia Tech defeated Central Michigan Wednesday in the finale of the Stetson Tournament, extending its win streak to three games. The Hokies went 3-2 at the Stetson Tournament, falling to No. 19 Stetson and Purdue in the first two days, but rattling off wins over Central Michigan (2) and Wagner.
- The Hokies are hitting .367 as a team, led by four hitters over the .300 mark. Cam Irvine leads the way with a .333 average, while Jack Owens (.326), Tom Stoffel (.315) and Nick Owens (.313) are all swinging well early on. Sam Fragale and Nick Meken have brought the most runs around, each boasting 11 RBI.
- The Hokies are expected to start senior Connor Coward in the opener Friday. Coward recorded his first career complete game in his last start, a 2-1 loss to Iowa. So far this year, he holds a 2.14 ERA, having given up nine hits, six runs (five earned) and 10 walks, fanning 24 in 21.0 innings. Saturday freshman lefty Ian Seymour will get the nod. He owns a mark of 1-1 on the season with a 5.19 ERA, having allowed 12 runs (10 earned) off 12 hits and eight walks, whiffing 20 in 17.1 innings. Sunday's starter is TBA.
- Pitt is 18-13 all-time against Virginia Tech in a series dating back to the 1980 season. Pitt holds a mark of 7-5 in ACC action with the Hokies and has won seven of the last 10.
- Last season Pitt swept the series (3-0) against Coastal opponent Virginia Tech. The Panthers captured a 9-5 victory in the first game of the series before winning both games of a doubleheader to finish off the sweep.
- Connor Perry brings a team-best five-game hit streak into ACC play, followed by Alex Amos (4) and David Yanni (3). Yanni put together the longest mark of the season at seven, while Amos strung together a five-game streak.
- Yanni has reached base in 18 straight, dating back to the 2017 season, while catcher Cole MacLaren sits at 12 and Nick Banman at 11.
- Redshirt junior Liam Sabino has knocked five home runs on the season to pace the Panther offense. Sabino's mark ranks second in the ACC, behind Brett Kinneman (8) of NC State. Sabino is on pace for 22.5 homers this season which would break the program's single season record.
- On the season, Sabino has tallied two multiple homer games, smacking two against USC Upstate and Saint Peter's.
- The Vanderbilt transfer has six homers in his career, bringing one from his former team.
- Heading into league play, the Panthers pitching staff boasts the best numbers in the ACC, recording a 1.68 ERA as the only ACC team with a sub 2.00 mark. Pitt's ERA is the third best in the country. Pitt has allowed just 20 earned runs in 12 games, striking out 137 batters and holding opponents to a league-best .193 average.
- Blair Calvo and Chase Smith have both seen significant innings on the bump and are yet to surrender a run, while Matt Pidich's ERA of 1.02 ranks sixth in the league out of pitchers who have thrown at least 1.0 inning per team game.
- Sophomore reliever RJ Freure has been electric in his five appearances, whiffing a team-best 25 batters in 12.2 innings. He owns a 0.71 ERA, having given up just one run off six hits and only four walks. He's holding opponents to a .136 average and owns a 2-0 record thus far.
- Freure's mark of 17.76 strikeouts per nine innings pitched is the second best mark in the country.
- Pitt will open its home season on Tuesday, hosting Youngstown State in a 3 p.m. contest at Charles L. Cost Field.
- The Panthers will return to the road the following weekend, heading to nationally ranked North Carolina for a three-game swing with the Tar Heels.
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