Pitt
25-17
Maryland Eastern Shore
9-37
Panthers Blow Past MD Eastern Shore, 18-5, in Finale
5/2/2018 3:29:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt Captures Two-Game Series over Hawks
"We did a very solid job at the plate again today," said head coach Joe Jordano. "We took advantage of some plus-counts and some hittable situations and scored a significant amount of runs. We took advantage of the opportunities that were presented to us and did a really solid job pitching wise. Chris [Gomez], after we scored two, came back and gave up a couple of runs and that's something he knows he can't do. He's got to throw a zero out there. Ultimately, we did a pretty good job after that and he settled down and did a good job. I thought TJ [Pagan] did a good job for us as well. We played well defensively. It was a challenging day from a lot of different perspectives, but I thought we did a really good job."
Pitt (25-17, 10-11 ACC) got the bats going early, scoring two runs in the opening frame. A triple from David Yanni brought home Frank Maldonado, who had singled through the left side to start things off for the Panthers. Ron Washington Jr. would bring home Yanni with a single of his own as Pitt took a 2-0 lead.
Maryland Eastern Shore (9-37, 5-16 MEAC) tied it up in the second off a two-run triple, but the Panthers would score three in the bottom of the frame to take the lead right back. Nick Banman singled to start off the inning, advancing to second after Chris Cappas was walked. Maldonado crushed one to left center, his third homer of the season, to bring home Banman and Cappas and put Pitt up 5-2.
??? "I was just trying to do my job, hunt a good pitch to hit and hopefully get a few guys in. I ended up getting all of them in. I just put a good swing on a good pitch."
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) May 2, 2018
David Yanni tallied Pitt's first grand slam in 367 days. #H2P #EarnIt pic.twitter.com/vRNkScw4k4
The game burst open in the third with an eight-run inning from the Panthers, beginning with Liam Sabino smashing his 11th home run of the season. Washington Jr. singled in the next at bat, reaching second on a wild pitch before coming home on a single from Caleb Parry. After Cappas singled through the left side, Cole MacLaren doubled down the left field line to score Parry and Cappas. Walks to Connor Perry and Maldonado loaded the bases for Yanni, who smacked a homer for his first career grand slam, his second home run in as many games as Pitt went up 13-2.
Pitt continued to pile it on in the fourth, adding five more runs to grab an 18-2 advantage. A Banman double and walks from Cappas and MacLaren loaded the bases for Perry, who singled to bring home Banman. Cappas would score on a sacrifice fly from Maldonado, and a double from Sabino would score MacLaren, Perry and Yanni as Pitt's offense continued to click.
??? "I think it's big for us to come out, feel ourselves swinging the bats and build some confidence going into the most important stretch of our season."
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) May 2, 2018
Frank Maldonado was one of three batters with 4+ RBI today as he tallied his 3rd HR of the season. #H2P #EarnIt pic.twitter.com/NANeQ3spw6
The Hawks would add three more in the seventh, but would fall to the Panthers 18-5 in the shortened contest.
Chris Gomez (2-0) earned the win, giving up four hits and two runs in five innings of work, striking out three. TJ Pagan, Lucas Maldonado and Peyton Reesman closed out the game for the Panthers, pitching two innings of relief.
The offense shined once again as six different Panther batters put together multi-hit performances and all nine starting hitters tallied at least one hit. Yanni led the offense, going 2-4 with three runs and five RBI, while Sabino finished 2-4 with four RBI. Maldonado and Washington Jr. were also solid, both finishing 2-3 on the day with Maldonado collecting four RBI and Washington Jr. one.
The Panthers return to ACC play this weekend, traveling to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish. Pitt gets things started on Friday at 6 p.m., with game two set for 2 p.m. Saturday and the finale for Sunday at 1 p.m. in Notre Dame, Ind.
Notes: Pitt tallied three home runs in a game for the first time since recording three against SIU Edwardsville on April 30, 2017 … David Yanni's five RBI were the most by a Panther batter since Caleb Parry collected six against Maryland Eastern Shore on May 3, 2017 … Pitt had three batters with four or more RBI for the first time since March 6, 2018 against Saint Peter's … David Yanni's grand slam was the first by a Panther batter since Caleb Parry hit one against Maryland Eastern Shore on May 3, 2017.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gomez, Chris (2-0)
L: WALSTON,Caleb (1-2)
Batting:
2B: NICASTRO,Joey 1
3B: CHAMBERS,Isaiah 1
RBI: TROWER,Jamison 1 ; COLEMAN,Blake 1 ; CHAMBERS,Isaiah 3
SF: COLEMAN,Blake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: NICASTRO,Joey 2 ; VALDEZ,Jessey 1 ; TROWER,Grayson 1 ; CHAMBERS,Isaiah 1
SB: CHAMBERS,Isaiah 1
HBP: BLACKBURN,Nathan 2
Batting:
2B: Sabino, Liam 1 ; Parry, Caleb 1 ; Banman, Nick 1 ; MacLaren, Cole 1
3B: Yanni, David 1
HR: Maldonado, Frank 1 ; Yanni, David 1 ; Sabino, Liam 1
RBI: Perry, Connor 1 ; Maldonado, Frank 4 ; Yanni, David 5 ; Sabino, Liam 4 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 1 ; Parry, Caleb 1 ; MacLaren, Cole 2
SF: Maldonado, Frank 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Perry, Connor 2 ; Maldonado, Frank 3 ; Yanni, David 3 ; Sabino, Liam 1 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 1 ; Parry, Caleb 1 ; Banman, Nick 2 ; Cappas, Chris 3 ; MacLaren, Cole 2
HBP: Yanni, David 1
