University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Ohio
Panthers Ease Past Ohio, 15-1, For 14th Win
4/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2006
ATHENS, Ohio - Ready to return home for four games in five days, the Pitt baseball team made sure they will enjoy the ride back with a 15-1 victory over host Ohio on Tuesday evening at Bob Wren Stadium in Athens, Ohio.
The Panthers (14-20) scored four runs before the Bobcats (12-17) got a chance to swing the bat and added 11 more runs before Ohio broke the shutout in the bottom of the ninth frame. It was just the third victory for Pitt in its last 15 games and first non-conference win since topping Duquesne 18-8 on March 15.
With one out in the top of the first, Jimmy Mayer (Somerset, Pa./Somerset) singled to center field, stole second and moved to third on the first of five Ohio miscues. When Jim Negrych (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Francis) reached on a fielding error by Dusty Hammond, Mayer came across with the game's first run. Morgan Kielty (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Central) then followed with a single to left-center field, moving Negrych to third. Freshman Rob Lawler (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Olympia) kept the inning going with an RBI single through the left side to score Negrych. After a double steal, Peter Parise (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) singled up the middle to score both Kielty and Lawler to make it a 4-0 game.
The Panthers added another run in the top of the third inning when Parise picked up his second hit to drive in Negrych, who led the inning off with a walk and moved up two bases on ground outs. Pitt broke the game open with a three-run fifth to increase its lead to 8-0. With one out, Negrych earned another free pass and then moved to third on a throwing error by Ohio pitcher Kevin Mementowski. When Kielty singled to center field, Negrych came across again to make it 6-0. Lawler ripped a two-bagger to right-center field to move Kielty to third, followed by the third hit and fourth RBI for Parise on a single through the left side. A sacrifice fly by Dan Williams (Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal Academy) scored the final run of the inning.
During that time, Pitt starter Chad Baker (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) was cruising, throwing six shutout innings, while only allowing two hits and a walk with two strikeouts. He earned the victory to improve to 2-0 this season and 4-0 in his career. Mike Bassage (Hornell, N.Y./Hornell) allowed three hits in the seventh frame but stranded the bases loaded in his only inning of work. Freshman Ryan Dunford (Buffalo, N.Y./Bishop Timon) worked the final two innings, allowing three hits and a run with one strikeout in just his fourth collegiate appearance.
The Panthers would score four more times in the top of the eighth to increase their advantage to 12-0 over the Bobcats. Seth Button (Elk Lake, Pa./Elk Lake/Gloucester College) led the inning off with a single up the middle and outfielder Eric Chamness (West Chester, Pa./West Chester East) was hit by a pitch to put two on with no outs. A single by David Cline (Mercersburg, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) loaded the bases but not for long as Mayer cleared them with a triple to left-center. Mayer later scored after Negrych walked and Kielty singled to right field.
The final three runs came in the top of the ninth inning as Button led the frame off with a base on balls. After moving to second on a passed ball, Chamness reached on an error to move Button to third. Mayer picked up his fourth RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly and Negrych followed with a two-run blast to finish Pitt's scoring. The home run was Negrych's sixth of the season and 29th of his career, putting him one shy of becoming the fifth Pitt player in history to record 30 homers.
The Panthers open their homestand with a 7 p.m. game vs. Akron on Wednesday evening, followed by a three-game series against new Big East member USF on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
NOTES: Mayer and Parise had four RBIs apiece, season highs for both and tying a career high for Parise...Negrych had just one hit, the home run, but drove in three runs and scored a career-high four times...Kielty, a freshman, had a season-best four hits and drove in two...the Panthers finished with five stolen bases, including two by Cline to increase his team lead to 15 but he was caught for the first time all year as well.
