University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Baseball Takes Two from Rival Duquesne
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 13, 1999
The Panthers swept a doubleheader (7-3, 9-6) with crosstown rival Duquesne on May 11 at Duquesne Field. With two home runs on the afternoon, sophomore third baseman Joe Lydic (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) set a new school record for single-season home runs with 14. Teammate Steve Dickinson (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) previously held the record of 13 from 1997. Lydic also set a new season mark with 205 at-bats and is tied for the single-season runs batted in record with 52.
In game one of the doubleheader, Duquesne scored in the bottom of the first on a home run, but the Panthers responded with two runs in the second to take the lead. Senior second baseman Lou Melucci (Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights) doubled down the right field line with two men on for two RBI. The Dukes tied it up in the third before Pittsburgh took the lead for good with three runs in the fourth. Junior catcher Doug Caraway (Baltimore, Md./Chesapeake) scored from third on a wild pitch and Lydic hit his first of two home runs with Melucci on first for a 5-2 Panther advantage. Duquesne scored another run in the bottom of the fourth, but a triple by freshman designated hitter Brad Rea (Gibsonia, Pa./North Allegheny) that scored Lydic in the sixth, and a single home run by freshman Mike Gonda (Ruffs Dale, Pa./Yough) in the seventh, would help clinch the win for Pittsburgh.
Junior Jory Coughenour (Uniontown, Pa./Uniontown) pitched six innings to receive his third win of the season.
The Panthers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in game two after Lydic's record-setting home run in the top of the first inning that once again scored Melucci. Pittsburgh extended it's lead to 4-0 after a catching error on senior Chris Delsignore's (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) sacrifice bunt scored Gonda. Sophomore shortstop Mike Pokrzywinski (Murraysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) then grounded out to third base, scoring Dickinson.
Pittsburgh added four more runs in the sixth on base hit RBIs by Pokrzywinski and juniors Dave Hoopes (Hershey, Pa./Lower Dauphin) and Erik Katchur (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin). Delsignore also scored on a wild pitch. Hoopes then scored in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Katchur for the Panthers' final run. Duquesne attempted a rally with four runs in the bottom of the seventh but fell short.
Sophomore Josh Knauff (Union City, Pa./Union City) earned his second win of the season after relieving starting pitcher John Schultz (Pittsburgh, Pa./Carrick).
Pittsburgh will conclude its regular season schedule when the Panthers host Rutgers in a three- game series May 15-16 at Trees Field.
