Tuesday, May 22
Durham, N.C.
11 AM
Pitt
28-25
2
vs
1
Georgia Tech
31-26
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pittsburgh
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
2
4
1
Georgia Tech
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
4
0
Pidich Tosses Gem in Pitt’s 2-1 Victory in ACC Championship Opener
5/22/2018 3:03:00 PM | Baseball
Pidich, Freure Combine to Help Pitt Earn First ACC Championship Win in Defeat of Georgia Tech
DURHAM, N.C. – A brilliant start from ace Matt Pidich lifted the University of Pittsburgh baseball team to a 2-1 victory over Georgia Tech Tuesday afternoon in the opening game of the 2018 ACC Championship.
Making its first appearance at the ACC Championship, the Panthers (28-25) scored twice in the seventh inning and held off the Yellow Jackets (31-26). The game sets up a decisive outing tomorrow at 7 p.m. against No. 1-seed North Carolina at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
"I thought we played a really good baseball game today," said head coach Joe Jordano. "Georgia Tech's top of the lineup is one of the most dangerous in the league. We knew that Matt [Pidich] would have to throw one of his best games in order to give us an opportunity. The difference today was that we got timely hits. We played well defensively. We pitched well. Their guy is tough, came right at us and threw very well today. We have tremendous respect for them. It's a great day for our program."
Pitching dominated in the game as Pidich and Georgia Tech starter Xzavion Curry each opened with six scoreless frames.
The Panthers broke the stalemate up in the seventh, scoring a pair to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Liam Sabino was struck by a pitch to lead off the inning, moving to second on a successful sacrifice bunt by Ron Washington Jr. A two-out single up the middle by Caleb Parry would plate Sabino as Pitt went up 1-0. Freshman Chris Cappas would drop his first career triple into right center in the next at bat, scoring Parry and giving the Panthers the 2-0 advantage.
Georgia Tech responded in the bottom of the frame, cutting Pitt's lead to one after a leadoff double and wild pitch put a runner on third with no outs. A ground ball would score the runner as Pidich struck out Colin Hall and induced a hard line drive out by Austin Wilhite to end the threat.
Pidich (6-2) went 7.0 innings, allowing one run of just three hits and one walk, striking out eight to bring his season strikeout total to 99.
Pitt's hard-throwing righty reliever RJ Freure was entrusted with the final two innings, and the sophomore secured his second save of the season, throwing 2.0 innings with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
Facing Georgia Tech's 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom of the ninth inning, Freure struck out Chase Murray and ACC Player of the Year Joey Bart before inducing a Kyle McCann groundout that Sabino was able to shovel to Parry for the dramatic final out of the game.
The Panthers will complete pool play Wednesday evening against the top-seeded Tar Heels, with the winner earning a place in Saturday's tournament semifinals. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dan Hammer is expected to get the start on the mound for the Panthers.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Making its first appearance at the ACC Championship, the Panthers (28-25) scored twice in the seventh inning and held off the Yellow Jackets (31-26). The game sets up a decisive outing tomorrow at 7 p.m. against No. 1-seed North Carolina at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
"I thought we played a really good baseball game today," said head coach Joe Jordano. "Georgia Tech's top of the lineup is one of the most dangerous in the league. We knew that Matt [Pidich] would have to throw one of his best games in order to give us an opportunity. The difference today was that we got timely hits. We played well defensively. We pitched well. Their guy is tough, came right at us and threw very well today. We have tremendous respect for them. It's a great day for our program."
Pitching dominated in the game as Pidich and Georgia Tech starter Xzavion Curry each opened with six scoreless frames.
The Panthers broke the stalemate up in the seventh, scoring a pair to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Liam Sabino was struck by a pitch to lead off the inning, moving to second on a successful sacrifice bunt by Ron Washington Jr. A two-out single up the middle by Caleb Parry would plate Sabino as Pitt went up 1-0. Freshman Chris Cappas would drop his first career triple into right center in the next at bat, scoring Parry and giving the Panthers the 2-0 advantage.
Georgia Tech responded in the bottom of the frame, cutting Pitt's lead to one after a leadoff double and wild pitch put a runner on third with no outs. A ground ball would score the runner as Pidich struck out Colin Hall and induced a hard line drive out by Austin Wilhite to end the threat.
Pidich (6-2) went 7.0 innings, allowing one run of just three hits and one walk, striking out eight to bring his season strikeout total to 99.
Pitt's hard-throwing righty reliever RJ Freure was entrusted with the final two innings, and the sophomore secured his second save of the season, throwing 2.0 innings with just one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
Facing Georgia Tech's 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom of the ninth inning, Freure struck out Chase Murray and ACC Player of the Year Joey Bart before inducing a Kyle McCann groundout that Sabino was able to shovel to Parry for the dramatic final out of the game.
The Panthers will complete pool play Wednesday evening against the top-seeded Tar Heels, with the winner earning a place in Saturday's tournament semifinals. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dan Hammer is expected to get the start on the mound for the Panthers.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Pidich, Matt (6-2)
L: Xzavion Curry (8-4)
S: Freure, RJ (2)
Batting:
2B: Cappas, Chris 1
3B: Cappas, Chris 1
RBI: Parry, Caleb 1 ; Cappas, Chris 1
SH: Washington, Jr., Ron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sabino, Liam 1 ; Parry, Caleb 1
HBP: Sabino, Liam 1 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 1
Batting:
2B: Kyle McCann 1
RBI: Tristin English 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyle McCann 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP/OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
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