Sabino’s Homer Gives Pitt 3-2 Win over Rival Penn State

Tuesday, May 8

Pittsburgh, Pa.

6 PM

Pitt

27-19

Penn State

11-30

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Sabino’s Homer Gives Pitt 3-2 Win over Rival Penn State

5/8/2018 9:54:00 PM | Baseball

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Panthers Rally for Third Straight Win over Nittany Lions

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team edged rival Penn State, 3-2, Tuesday night thanks to a homer off the bat of Liam Sabino in the seventh inning, tallying its third consecutive win over the Nittany Lions.

"Offensively, we left 10 runners on base, but we did get the big hit when we needed it from Liam [Sabino] and it put us ahead." said head coach Joe Jordano. "It was situational hitting today. I thought that Derek [West] gave us a solid start, then TJ [Pagan] came in and gave us a good chance and then, of course, I thought Yaya [Chentouf] was electric tonight. He did a really good job and had a lot of juice in that arm. It was good to see."

After two scoreless innings, Pitt (27-19, 11-13 ACC) was able to put the first run on the board, going up 1-0 on the Nittany Lions. Frank Maldonado was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and would steal second before coming home on a single from Ron Washington Jr.

Penn State (11-30, 3-17 Big 10) would tie things up in the sixth off of a solo homer, before taking a 2-1 lead on a triple to left center.

The lead wouldn't last long, as the Panthers would score two in the seventh to go ahead by a run once again. After David Yanni singled to right field, Sabino smashed his 13th home run of the season to make it 3-2 in the home team's favor. Pitt was able to hold off Penn State for the final two innings, claiming the win.

Starter Derek West earned a no decision, surrendering three hits and two runs while walking three and striking out four over 5.1 innings. TJ Pagan (4-0) earned the win, his second in as many games, pitching 1.2 innings while giving up just one hit and striking out one. Yaya Chentouf came in to the game in the eighth, giving up one hit and striking out four across two innings on the way to his eighth save of the year.

Offensively, Sabino went 2-4 with two RBI and a home run, his team-leading 13th of the season. Yanni and Washington Jr. both went 1-3, with Yanni tallying a run and Washington Jr. collecting one RBI.

Pitt returns to ACC action this weekend when it faces perennial powerhouse Louisville for the first of back-to-back league series. The Panthers will close out the regular season against nationally-ranked Clemson May 17-19.

Notes: The victory ensured a winning season for the Panthers, their first since 2013… Liam Sabino's seventh inning home run now puts him in a four-way tie for 10th in Panther history for homers in a single season… Yaya Chentouf earned his eighth save of the season, moving him in to a tie for second for the most saves in a single season in Panther history and continuing to expand upon his career-best … the victory is Pitt's third straight over the Nittany Lions dating back to the 2017 season … Connor Perry and Liam Sabino extended their team-best reached base streaks to 11 games.

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