Thursday, May 17
Pittsburgh, Pa.
6 PM
Pitt
vs
Clemson
Panthers Conclude Regular Season, Host No. 7 Clemson
5/16/2018 5:29:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt In Search of First Ever ACC Tournament Berth
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team closes out the 2018 regular season, hosting No. 7 Clemson in a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field.
The Panthers and Tigers are set to kick off the series Thursday at 6 p.m., with game two set for Friday at 3 p.m. and the finale Saturday at 1 p.m. Pitt will celebrate Senior Day Saturday afternoon, honoring the five members of the 2018 senior class.
HOW TO FOLLOW
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The Panthers and Tigers are set to kick off the series Thursday at 6 p.m., with game two set for Friday at 3 p.m. and the finale Saturday at 1 p.m. Pitt will celebrate Senior Day Saturday afternoon, honoring the five members of the 2018 senior class.
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.
- Fans can also follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Thursday the first 200 fans receive a replica Pitt script baseball.
- Friday the Panthers will celebrate National Pizza Party Day as fans will receive free pizza (while supplies last).
- Saturday Pitt will honor seniors Nick Banman, Frank Maldonado, TJ Pagan, Caleb Parry and Matt Pidich as well as senior manager Max Glasser.
- Pitt (27-22, 11-16 ACC) closes out the 2018 regular season this week, hosting No. 7 Clemson in an ACC matchup at Charles L. Cost Field.
- The Panthers enter the series having dropped three against Louisville at home last weekend. Pitt fell in game one 6-3, before losing a heartbreaker in the ninth inning on Saturday, 6-5. Louisville closed out the series with an 8-5 win on Sunday.
- Liam Sabino is leading the Panthers' offense, batting .299 with 56 hits, 36 runs and 43 RBI. Sabino, who holds an ACC-leading .626 slugging percentage, is pacing the team with 15 homers, including two against Louisville this past weekend. Frank Maldonado continues to be an impact in his final season, holding a .295 batting average with 52 hits, 27 runs and 38 RBI.
- Thursday will see Dan Hammer take the mound, while Matt Pidich will start on Friday. Saturday's starter is TBD. Hammer, who has been outstanding for the Panthers lately, brings in a 6.79 ERA having allowed 39 runs off of 57 hits while striking out 51 across 51.2 innings. Pidich leads the team with 88 strikeouts, while also holding the pitching staff's best ERA at 2.74. He has allowed 28 runs off of 74 hits across 82.0 innings of work.
- Clemson (40-13, 19-8 ACC) enters the series having defeated Kennesaw State in a mid-week matchup, after taking two-of-three against Austin Peay last weekend.
- Clemson sits atop the ACC's Atlantic Division standings and is tied for the top spot in the conference with North Carolina out of the Coastal Division.
- Sophomores Kyle Wilkie and Logan Davidson are leading the Tigers offense, with both batters hitting above .300. Wilkie, who is hitting .308, has 53 hits and 32 RBI while Davidson holds a .304 clip with 62 hits, 50 runs and 35 RBI. Seth Beer has also made an impact, leading the team and the ACC in home runs with 16.
- The Tigers are expected to start Spencer Strider on Thursday, who brings in a 3.67 ERA having allowed 20 runs off of 29 hits while striking out 60 across 41.2 innings. Brooks Crawford will take the mound Friday, holding a 3.60 ERA after pitching 65 innings, giving up 26 earned runs off of 60 hits while striking out 47. Saturday's starter, Jake Higginbotham, leads the team with 52 strikeouts, and has held opponents to a .233 batting average. Higginbotham brings in a 3.39 ERA having allowed 25 earned runs off of 57 hits across 66.1 innings.
- Pitt and Clemson have met six times since the Panthers joined the ACC in 2014, with the Tigers holding a 4-2 all-time advantage.
- The two teams last met in 2016 at Clemson, where the Panthers took one game from the then 14th-ranked Tigers. After the Panthers dropped the opener 14-6, it came back with a convincing 15-5 win to even the series before dropping the finale in a close 4-3 loss.
- The Tigers claimed a 2-1 series win in the last meeting at Charles L. Cost Field in 2014 as Clemson won the first two meetings before Pitt captured a 13-4 victory in the finale over the then 20th-ranked Tigers.
- Ron Washington Jr. brings in the team's longest hitting streak sitting at five, followed by Liam Sabino who sits at four. Frank Maldonado comes in at two games, while six other Panther batters have one.
- Sabino brings in a season long 14-game reached base streak, while Caleb Parry has reached in 11 straight. Washington Jr. comes in with five, while Cole MacLaren sits at three.
- 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.
- Sophomore RJ Freure (4-1) has been the leader out of the bullpen this season, owning a 4.22 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 53.1 innings.
- Freure's 87 punch-outs rank 10th in the ACC and 66th in the nation, while also tied for the number eight spot in program history for strikeouts in a single season.
- This year, Freure has fanned 34 batters looking, good for second in the ACC.
- Freure currently ranks second in the country in strikeouts per nine innings, with a 14.68 mark.
- Ron Washington Jr. and Frank Maldonado are leading the Panthers' offense in ACC play this season, both hitting around the .300 mark in league action.
- Washington Jr. has excelled against ACC teams this year, hitting at a .301 clip with 31 hits and 17 RBI. All five of Washington Jr.'s homers this season have been hit against ACC foes, including a two-run bomb in last Sunday's matchup with Louisville.
- Maldonado, who is batting .300 against ACC teams, has 30 hits, 18 runs and 21 RBI, along with a team-leading .402 on base percentage.
- The Panthers have been a solid defensive force this season, boasting the third best fielding percentage in the ACC. Pitt owns a .976 mark, tallying 46 errors, third fewest amongst the 14 ACC schools, adding 1,335 putouts and 511 assists in 1,892 chances.
- The Panthers' fielding percentage ranks 44th in the nation.
- In conference play, the Panthers have put up the second best defensive numbers in the ACC, owning a .979 percentage. In ACC action, Pitt has committed just 21 errors, while tallying 702 putouts and 279 assists in 1,002 opportunities.
- 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 fifth 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 13 earned runs off 32 hits and 14 walks in 36.0 innings, whiffing 40 and holding batters to just a .239 average.
- 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 four 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 a 3.65 ERA, giving up just ten runs off of 23 hits, while striking out 23 batters over the course of 24.2 innings.
- Redshirt senior Frank Maldonado has led the offensive charge for the majority of the season, taking control of the hitting core with .295 average, second only to Liam Sabino (.299). The centerfielder owns a .370 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 .300 mark, behind just Ron Washington Jr. amongst starters. He has a team-best 21 RBI in league action, owning a .480 slugging percentage and a .408 on base percentage, which leads the team. He's tallied six doubles and four homers in ACC outings.
- 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 93 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 (393 putouts). It has been 56 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.
- It's been another season of solid pitching for the Panthers as the team owns the ACC's ninth best ERA (4.29) and has been highlighted by some spectacular individual performances. As a group, the Panthers are holding opponents to a.250 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 2.74 ERA. He has struck out 88 to pace the rotation and rank ninth in the league, having tossed a team-high 82.0 frames.
- Reliever RJ Freure has been dominant as well, holding a gaudy 87 strikeouts in just 53.1 innings, ranking second in the nation with a 14.68 strikeouts per nine innings mark. His 87 punch outs rank 10th in the ACC and 65th in the country as Pitt is one of just two pitching staffs to have two players ranked in the top 10 in strikeouts in the ACC. Freure is holding opponents to a .223 average, third to TJ Pagan and freshman Chase Smith, who has held batters to just a .165 average.
- The Panthers have accumulated the sixth most walks in the ACC, taking 253 free passes on the season. That number ranks 31st 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 (38), Liam Sabino (33), Connor Perry (28) and Nick Banman (26) each racking up the free passes.
- 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 36 times so far this season, six more than the 2017 total. Liam Sabino has seen his number stuck to the helmet a team-best 15 times, while Frank Maldonado, David Yanni and Ron Washington Jr. sit at five, followed by Nick Banman (4) and Nico Popa (2).
- Redshirt junior Liam Sabino has knocked 15 home runs on the season to pace the Panther offense. Sabino's mark ranks second in the ACC, as the leader is Seth Beer (16) of Clemson.
- Sabino's mark is tied for eighth 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 16 homers in his career, bringing one from his former team.
- The Panthers can clinch a berth in the ACC Tournament this weekend with one win over Clemson or with a Virginia Tech loss to North Carolina.
- Pool play will begin on Tuesday, May 22 and conclude on Friday, May 25. The winners of the pools will face off in the semifinals on Saturday, May 26, with the championship game being held on Sunday, May 27.
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