Panthers Return to ACC Action, Host Louisville

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will take part in the first of its final two ACC series this weekend, hosting national powerhouse Louisville at Charles L. Cost Field.

Pitt and the Cardinals will get the weekend underway Friday at 6 p.m. with game two slated for 3 p.m. Saturday and the finale set for 1 p.m. Sunday.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Live stats will be available here.
The series can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
- Game 1
- Game 2
- Game 3
Fans can also follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.

PROMOTIONS

Friday
- The first 200 fans will receive a Pitt script mini baseball bat pen
Saturday
- Women's basketball head coach Lance White will throw out the ceremonial first pitch
Sunday
- It's Mother's Day! Pitt baseball moms will throw out a ceremonial first pitch
- Military & First Responders & Little League Sunday
- Kids can run the bases and take part in a postgame autograph session

LEADING OFF

Pitt (27-19, 11-13 ACC) continues its seven-game homestand, facing Louisville in its first of back-to-back ACC series to close out the 2018 regular season.
The Panthers enter the weekend series having defeated rival Penn State, 3-2, in a mid-week battle, courtesy of a Liam Sabino seventh inning two-run homer. Pitt's win marked its third consecutive win against the Nittany Lions, and it also guaranteed a winning season for the team, its first since 2013.
Frank Maldonado has been a persistent offensive leader this season, batting a team high .293 with 48 hits, 37 RBI and 23 runs. Freshman Ron Washington Jr., who also sits at 48 hits, holds a .286 clip and .405 slugging percentage, continuing his impressive rookie campaign. Sabino, the team's leader in hits (51) and RBI (39), hit his 13th home run over the weekend, a team-best.
Pitt's weekend rotation is expected to remain the same, with Dan Hammer getting the start on Friday while Matt Pidich takes the mound on Saturday and Blair Calvo on Sunday. Hammer holds a 2-3 record, having given up 48 hits and 35 runs while striking out 47 across 47.1 innings. Pidich, who brings in a 2.85 ERA, will aim to earn his sixth win of the season. He has surrdenered 67 hits and 24 runs while striking out a whopping 80 batters, second only to RJ Freure (85), throughout 75.2 innings. Calvo will take the hill Sunday, bringing in a 1-4 record and a 4.60 ERA, having given up 48 hits and 23 earned runs over 45 innings.

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE

Louisville (34-15, 12-12 ACC) enters the weekend winners of two straight after sweeping back-to-back mid-week games over Wright State and Cincinnati. The Cardinals' last ACC series came on May 4-6 as they took two from Boston College in Brighton, Mass. Louisville has traded wins in ACC series going back to the start of April, dropping a 2-1 series to NC State before sweeping Virginia Tech, falling 2-1 to Virginia and taking the series from Boston College.
As a team, Louisville has put up some solid offensive numbers, hitting at a .278 average to rank fourth in the ACC. Outfielder Danny Oriente leads the Cardinals' offense, hitting at a .347 mark, joined by Logan Wyatt (.333) as the two Cardinal batters over the .300 mark. Wyatt has tallied a team-best 50 RBI, and has already recorded 20 doubles on the season to pace the league.
On the mound, the Cardinals will start southpaw Adam Wolf on the mound in the opener, as the junior owns a 5-2 record with a 2.26 ERA. He's allowed just 19 earned runs off 58 hits and 21 walks, striking out 86 through 75.2 innings of work and holding opponents to a .208 average. Fellow left hander Nick Bennett will get the call Saturday, bringing in a 2.17 ERA with a record of 6-1. In his 49.2 innings, he's allowed 12 earned runs off 35 hits and 15 walks, whiffing 46 and holding opponents to a .193 average. Right hander Bobby Miller will take the hill in the finale, making his sixth start of the season with a record of 4-1 and a 0.97 ERA. He has let up just five earned runs in 46.1 innings, allowing 23 hits and 14 walks, striking out 37 and holding opponents to a .142 average.

SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE

Louisville holds a 17-8 all-time advantage over the Panthers in a series dating back to the 1978 season.
Pitt is 0-3 against the Cardinals in ACC action as the two teams first met in ACC play last season, with the then fourth-ranked Cardinals sweeping the Panthers in Louisville.
Pitt's last victory over Louisville came at home on May 18, 2012 when it captured a 8-2 decision.

WHO'S STREAKING

Freshman Chris Cappas brings in the team's longest hit streak, sitting at six, followed by Frank Maldonado with three. David Yanni and Ron Washington Jr. both sit at two.
Liam Sabino and Connor Perry bring in 11-game reached base streaks, while Yanni has reached base in 10 straight. Cappas and Caleb Parry both come in with eight.

BREAKING RECORDS

The Panthers have tallied 11 wins in ACC play this season, tying the program record for ACC victories in a single season.
Pitt last tallied 11 wins in its inaugural season in the league, going 11-19 in 2014, which included a sweep of Duke and nationally-ranked Georgia Tech, as well as a win over then top-ranked Virginia and nationally-ranked North Carolina and Clemson.

FREURE ON FIRE

Sophomore RJ Freure (4-1) has been the leader out of the bullpen this season, giving up owning a 4.03 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 51.1 innings.
Freure's 85 punch outs ranks seventh in the ACC and 51st in the nation, while also holding the number 10 spot in program history for strikeouts in a single season.
This year, Freure has fanned 33 batters looking, good for second in the ACC.
Freure currently ranks second in the country in strikeouts per nine innings, with a 14.90 mark.

FRESHMEN LEAD THE WAY IN ACC PLAY

Freshmen Ron Washington Jr. and Chris Cappas are leading the Panthers offense in ACC play this season, both hitting above the .300 mark in league action.
Cappas, who is hitting a team-best .357 against ACC teams, is currently on a season-high five game hit-streak, after going 6-11 at Notre Dame.
Washington Jr. has appeared in all but one ACC game, batting .311 with 28 hits, 13 RBI and a .467 slugging percentage. In the series opener against Miami, Washington Jr. went 3-4 including a ninth inning home run to capture the 2-1 win for the Panthers.

STEEL CURTAIN

The Panthers have been a solid defensive force this season, boasting the third best fielding percentage in the ACC. Pitt owns a .97 mark, tallying 41 errors, second fewest amongst the 14 ACC schools, adding 1,227 putouts and 460 assists in 1,728 chances.
The Panthers' fielding percentage ranks 35th in the nation.
In conference play, the Panthers have put up the top defensive numbers in the ACC, owning a .981 percentage. In ACC action, Pitt has committed just 17 errors, a league-best, while tallying 648 putouts and 251 assists in 916 opportunities.

YA! YA!

In his three seasons with the Panthers, closer Yaya Chentouf has been a force, and that trend continues in 2018 as he has already accumulated eight saves on the year.
Chentouf ranks fourth in the league in saves and has already surpassed his single season record of six saves set as a freshman in 2016. Chentouf is Pitt's all-time saves leader, having accumulated 16 in his three year stint.
Opponents struggle against the righty, who has allowed just 11 earned runs off 28 hits and 14 walks in 35.0 innings, whiffing 39 and holding batters to just a .220 average.

#HAMMERTIME

Sophomore Dan Hammer had a rough start to the season, but has turned things around and has been a force for the Panthers over his last three starts.
In his first nine appearances, Hammer held an 11.70 ERA, giving up 26 runs on 27 hits over 20.0 innings. Since then, the sophomore has held 2.96 ERA, giving up just nine runs off of 21 hits, while striking out 25 batters over the course of 27.1 innings.

FRANK'S RED HOT

Redshirt senior Frank Maldonado has led the offensive charge for the majority of the season, taking control of the hitting core with a team-best .293 average. The centerfielder owns a .392 mark with runners in scoring positon to lead the team, owning five game winning RBI on the year.
In two games against Maryland Eastern Shore, Maldonado hit at a .429 mark, tallying five RBI off three hits with one double and one homer and a 1.000 slugging mark.
In ACC action, Maldonado is hitting at a .295 mark, behind just Ron Washington Jr. amongst starters. He has a team-best 20 RBI in league action, owning a .466 slugging percentage and a .398 on base percentage, which leads the team. He's tallied six doubles and three homers in ACC outings.

JUST BEING FRANK WITH YA

Not just electric on the offensive side of the ball, redshirt senior Frank Maldonado is the rock of the Panther defense, having yet to commit an error this season in 89 chances. Maldonado has made a slew of spectacular plays in centerfield, tallying two assists.
In his career, the Short Hills, N.J., native has committed just two errors, owning a .995 career fielding percentage (386 putouts). It has been 53 games since Maldonado's last miscue, which came on May 8, 2017 in the finale of the Georgia Tech series and snapped a 110-game streak of errorless play.

PITT(CHER) PERFECT

It's been another season of solid pitching for the Panthers as the team owns the ACC's eighth best ERA (4.16) and has been highlighted by some spectacular individual performances. As a group, the Panthers are holding opponents to a miniscule .240 average, 10th in the league.
Redshirt senior Matt Pidich has emerged as the group's leader, holding down the Saturday role with a team-best 2.85 ERA. He has struck out 80 to pace the starting rotation, having tossed a team-high 75.2 frames.
Reliever RJ Freure has been dominant as well, leading the team with a gaudy 85 strikeouts in just 51.1 innings, ranking second in the nation with a 14.90 strikeouts per nine innings mark. His 85 punch outs rank seventh in the ACC and 51st in the country as Pitt is one of just three pitching staffs to have two players ranked in the top 10 in strikeouts in the ACC. Freure is holding opponents to a .213 average, second only to freshman Chase Smith, who has held batters to a .136 average, third in the ACC.

WALK IT OUT

The Panthers have accumulated the seventh most walks in the ACC, taking 242 free passes on the season. That number ranks 26th in the nation as Pitt is led by David Yanni, who has recorded 39 walks on the season. In addition to Yanni, four more Panthers have 20 or more walks on the year with Cole MacLaren (35), Liam Sabino (30), Connor Perry (28) and Nick Banman (26) each racking up the free passes.

INTRODUCING THE HOME RUN HELMET

Any time a Pitt batter hits a home run this season, as he crosses the plate fans may notice him sport a gold construction helmet, adorned with the 3-D script P logo and a smattering of numbers of those who have lined one over the wall before. It's the home run helmet.
Dreamt up by redshirt senior Caleb Parry, the Panthers have used the home run helmet 31 times so far this season, on pace for about 35 dingers. Liam Sabino has seen his number stuck to the helmet a team-best 13 times, while David Yanni sits at five, followed by Frank Maldonado (4), Nick Banman (4) Ron Washington Jr. (3) and Nico Popa (2).

BINO BOMBS

Redshirt junior Liam Sabino has knocked 13 home runs on the season to pace the Panther offense. Sabino's mark ranks fifth in the ACC, as the leader is Seth Beer (15) of Clemson. Sabino is on pace for nearly 15 homers this season.
Sabino's mark ranks 10th in program history for homers in a single season with Chris Sedon (22) holding the record.
On the season, Sabino has tallied two multiple homer games, smacking two against USC Upstate and Saint Peter's.
The Vanderbilt transfer has 14 homers in his career, bringing one from his former team.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will conclude the regular season this weekend, hosting nationally ranked Clemson in a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field, set to get underway Thursday.
The ACC Tournament is slated to begin the following Tuesday with the opening round set to run through Friday.

#H2P | Twitter | Instagram

Panthers Return to ACC Action, Host Louisville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Liam Sabino

Panthers Return to ACC Action, Host Louisville

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Liam Sabino

Related Videos