Panthers Down Youngstown State in 9-5 Victory

Tuesday, April 3

Pittsburgh, Pa.

5 PM

Pitt

15-10

Youngstown State

8-18

Youngstown State

Pittsburgh

Panthers Down Youngstown State in 9-5 Victory

4/3/2018 8:33:00 PM | Baseball

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Pitt Claims Third Straight Win

PITTSBURGH – A decisive four-run seventh inning led the University of Pittsburgh baseball team to a 9-5 victory over Youngstown State Tuesday night at Charles L. Cost Field in a game that was moved to Pittsburgh after substantial rain in the Youngstown area.

The Panthers (15-10, 4-8 ACC) and Penguins (8-18, 6-3 HORIZON) traded runs through the first six innings before Pitt erupted for four runs in the seventh inning, earning a 9-5 lead it would never relinquish.

Both teams had their bats going early. Youngstown State grabbed the first run of the game after a sac-fly scored Trey Bridis. The Panthers quickly answered back, as an RBI single by Frank Maldonado scored Alex Amos, evening the score at one apiece after the first.

The Penguins took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third after a solo shot by Bridis, though Pitt yet again answered back after a single through the left side of the field by Ron Washington Jr. scored David Yanni in the bottom of the inning.

Youngstown State used another long bomb in the top of fourth to make it 5-2 after a shot over the left field fence by Andrew Kendrick scored three. The Panthers grabbed two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, with an RBI single by Yanni scoring Bryce O'Farrell and Maldonado's second RBI of the day sending in Amos.

Pitt evened the score in the bottom of the sixth, with Yanni singling through the right side to send in Amos for his third run of the game.

The Panthers then used a dominant seventh inning to pull away from the Penguins, scoring four in the frame and putting their lead at 9-5. Pitt's first run of the inning came via a Nico Popa sacrifice fly, which scored Chris Cappas, who entered the game as a pinch runner after a Caleb Parry single. An RBI single by Cole MacLaren to score Washington Jr. made it 7-5 before the Panthers put their final runs on the board off a double by Liam Sabino, scoring MacLaren and O'Farrell.

Pitt's Derek West started the game, earning a no-decision after allowing three hits and four runs while striking out two in three innings on the mound. TJ Pagan earned the win for the Panthers, recording four innings of relief work while allowing one run and striking out four. The win improves Pagan's record to 2-0 on the year. RJ Freure also added two innings of relief work, striking out five while allowing just one hit.

"It was really good to get him [Derek West] back on the mound for us," said head coach Joe Jordano. "We need Derek to be good for us in the long run for us to be successful and I thought he gave us a pretty decent start. He had some control problems there late. We made a pitching change and TJ [Pagan] came in and, his last two outings were not stellar, so it was really good to get him back out there as well. We finished with RJ [Freure]. All three of those guys had some questionable outings over their last three and I think that they made a good step forward today in this ballgame."

At the plate, the Panthers saw three multi-hit efforts. Amos went 3-4 in the outing, while adding one walk and three runs. Yanni went 2-3 at the plate, adding a run and two RBI. Maldonado rounded out the trio with a 2-4 effort while also contributing two RBI.

The win marks Pitt's third victory in a row and its sixth-straight non-conference win. The Panthers will be back in action this weekend as they head to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a three-game series against ACC foe Boston College.

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