A Look Back on the 2003 Pittsburgh Baseball Season
7/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
A Look Back on the 2003 Pittsburgh Baseball Season
7/8/2003
Mike Scanzano was one of three Panthers to earn All-Big East honors in 2003. |
TEAM INFORMATION Head Coach
Alma Mater: Westminster, ?85
Record at School (Years): 160-141-2 (6)
Overall Record (Years): 443-259-2 (16)
Assistant Coach: Joel Dombkowski
Alma Mater: Mercyhurst, ?91
Assistant Coach: Dan Ninemire
Alma Mater: Gannon, ?97
2003 Overall Record: 36-20
2003 Big East Record: 13-13
2003 Big East Finish: 6th/11 teams
2003 Big East Honorees
Bryan Spamer -- All-Big East Second Team (SS)
Stuart Rykaceski -- All-Big East Second Team (OF)
Mike Scanzano -- All-Big East Third Team (3B)
2003 All-East honorees
Bryan Spamer -- All-ABCA First Team (SS)
2003 Big East Academic All-Stars
Joe Burger
Adam Luckette
Chris Papst
INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL RECORDS
Season
:Doubles.....18 (tied).....Stuart Rykaceski
Career:
Walks.....92.....Stuart Rykaceski
TEAM SCHOOL RECORDS
Games.....56
Doubles.....116
2003 Major League Baseball Draft
Nick Evangelista.....24th Round (710).....Toronto Blue Jays
Miscellaneous Milestones/Honors
Joe Jordano 150th win at Pittsburgh
6-4 vs. Ohio, April 15
700th game as Head Coach
14-13 (W) vs. Virginia Tech, May 10
Team 36 overall wins ? tied for second-best in school history
Team 72 wins last two years ? best two-year span in history of program
2003 TIMELINE
Feb. 15
: Pittsburgh collects its first win of the year with a 2-1 victory over Duke thanks to a solid pitching performance by Nick Evangelista, his first appearance as a Panther.Feb. 22: Nick Evangelista moves to 2-0 on the mound as he picks up his second win of the season, a 5-3 victory in New Orleans.
Feb. 28: The Panthers defeat Purdue, 8-7, in the Big East-Big Ten Challenge in Homestead, Fla., behind three hits from both Tom Cashman and Mike Scanzano.
March 1: Pittsburgh records its first shutout of the year with a 6-0 victory against Sacred Heart in the Homestead Challenge. Nick Evangelista improved to 3-0 on the year as he pitched a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts and no walks, allowing just three hits.
March 3: Redshirt freshman Todd Schultz pitched a complete-game shutout in his first collegiate game as Pittsburgh defeated Detroit 8-0 in the Homestead Challenge.
March 4: Tom Cashman finished with a career-high five hits with four RBIs and two runs scored in the Panthers? 8-6 victory over Mount St. Mary?s in the Homestead Challenge.
March 5: Pittsburgh shut out Detroit for the second time in three days and won its seventh straight game with a 15-0 blanking of the Titans. Joe Engel, Adam Luckette and Brian Jacobsen combined on the shutout.
March 8: The Panthers scored a season-high 20 runs in a 20-2 romp over Chicago State in its final game of the Homestead Challenge. Pittsburgh also had a season-best 23 hits in the contest.
March 15: In its first home of the season, Pittsburgh defeated Niagara 11-1 as Nick Evangelista recorded his fourth win of the year. Evangelista pitched all nine innings, striking out four and walking none.
March 16: The Panthers completed a three-game series sweep of Niagara with a doubleheader victory (3-2, 5-4) at Trees Field.
March 19: Pittsburgh won its sixth straight game with a 10-7 victory over Kent State. Tom Cashman led the way with three hits while Mike Scanzano and Chris Wilmoth each added three RBIs.
March 22: With a doubleheader sweep of Seton Hall, the Panthers opened Big East play in style and upped their winning streak to eight games by defeating the Pirates, 2-1 and 8-7, at Trees Field.
March 24: Nick Evangelista named Big East Pitcher of the Week for his 2-1 victory over Seton Hall. He struck out a career-high 11 batters in the win while walking none.
March 25: Pittsburgh overwhelmed city-rival Duquesne with a 14-4 victory at Trees Field. Tom Cashman and Mike Scanzano each added two hits.
April 4: Stuart Rykaceski gave the Panthers a 5-4 victory over visiting Rutgers with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the seventh in the first game of the twinbill.
April 6: Jeff Barnyak and Brian Jacobsen combined on a shutout as the Panthers defeated rival-West Virginia 4-0 on a cold afternoon at Trees Field. Barnyak pitched 8.1 innings and gave up no runs while striking out six batters.
April 7: Jeff Barnyak named Big East Pitcher of the Week for his performance against West Virginia.
April 12: Pittsburgh swept a doubleheader from Villanova, 9-2 and 7-1, at Trees Field. In the first game, Nick Evangelista notched his team-leading sixth win of the season, striking out nine and walking just one. In the second game, Joe Burger collected three hits and three RBIs while Stuart Rykaceski added two hits and two stolen bases.
April 13: The Panthers completed the three-game sweep of the Wildcats with a 10-5 victory, improving to 7-6 in the Big East. Ben Copeland and Stuart Rykaceski each pounded out three hits and one stolen base to lead the way.
April 15: Head Coach Joe Jordano tallied his 150th win as a Panther in a 6-4 victory over visiting Ohio.
April 17: Pittsburgh defeated eventual conference tourney champion Notre Dame, 5-3, in the second game of a doubleheader. The Panthers out-hit the Fighting Irish 14-4 thanks to four hits by Mike Scanzano and three by Stuart Rykaceski. Tom Cashman extended his career-high 13-game hitting streak with a single.
April 19: The Panthers used solid back-to-back starts from Nick Evangelista and Jeff Barnyak to win both ends of the doubleheader at Georgetown, 11-3 and 8-3. Evangelista picked up his seventh win of the season in the opener, while Barnyak struck out nine batters in seven innings while allowing just one earned run in the nightcap.
April 26: Following a week off for class finals, the Panthers registered their fifth shutout of the year with a 4-0 blanking of Buffalo at Trees Field. The win was the Panthers 30th of the season and fourth in a row. Nick Evangelista allowed just four hits in eight innings while striking out seven on his way to his eighth win of the season.
April 29: T.J. Gornati improved to 4-0 on the year as he struck out a career-high 10 batters in Pittsburgh?s 10-3 win at Niagara. Casey Long led the Panthers with four hits, including two doubles. Stuart Rykaceski tied the single-season school record for doubles with 18th of the year.
April 30: The Panthers swept a doubleheader at Canisius, 5-0 and 8-2. Freshman Mike Rhoten recorded his first career shutout in the opener, surrendering just three hits while striking out two batters.
May 3: Finishing with two doubles in the first game against Boston College, Pittsburgh broke the single-season school record for doubles with its 100th of the year. The Panthers finished the year with 116 two-baggers.
May 4: Stuart Rykaceski extended his team-best and career-high 17-game hitting streak with one hit in both ends of the doubleheader against Boston College.
May 6: Pittsburgh and Duquesne played the first-ever collegiate baseball game at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
May 10: Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak with a wild 14-13 triumph over Virginia Tech in the second of two games. The Panthers led 14-8 and hung on to capture the win at Trees Field. Bryan Spamer and Stuart Rykaceski led the way with four hits apiece, while Spamer added six RBIs and two home runs. The game also marked the 700th career game as a head coach for Joe Jordano.
May 11: The Panthers took the third and final game of the series against Virginia Tech with a dramatic 17-16 victory. With the score knotted at 16 in the bottom of the ninth, Tom Cashman led off the inning with a walk-off home run to right field to give Pittsburgh the win. Cashman and Chris Papst each had three hits while Cashman added five RBIs. Stuart Rykaceski walked three times, breaking the career mark for walks with his 91st free pass. He finished the season with 92.
May 17: Don Rhoten struck out six batters in 6.2 innings as Pittsburgh defeated Connecticut, 3-1, in Storrs. The was the Panthers? 36th of the season, tying for the second-most in school history. The 72 wins over the past two years also marks the best two-year span in school history.
May 18: The Panthers played their 56th and final game of the year, marking the first time in school history they have played 56 games.
May 22: Bryan Spamer (second team), Stuart Rykaceski (second team) and Mike Scanzano (third team) were named to the All-Big East teams.
June 4: Pitcher Nick Evangelista is selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 24th round (710th overall) of the Major League Baseball Draft.
June 17: Joe Burger, Adam Luckette and Chris Papst named to Big East Academic All-Star Team.
June 27: Shortstop Bryan Spamer is named to American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-East First Team.