Pitt
Notre Dame
PITT BASEBALL TOPS REINING CONFERENCE CHAMPION NOTRE DAME 4-2
3/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2007
"I was very pleased with the response our team had to the adversity they faced early on in this game," Pitt head coach Joe Jordano said following the contest. "The guys really hung tough in there. This was a solid job done by everyone tonight."
Conley (JR/Chippewa, Pa./Blackhawk) got things started for the Panthers in the bottom of the first when he ripped a leadoff double into left field. Right fielder Peter Parise (SR/Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) bunted back to Notre Dame starter David Phelps, advancing Conley to third.
With one on and one out, third baseman Gary Bucuren (RS FR/Ambridge, Pa./Kentucky) was hit by a pitch to put runners at the corners for the Panthers. Mullins (JR/Brick, N.J./Brookdale Community College) followed with a hard-hit ball to the Fighting Irish first baseman Mike Dury. Mullins was tagged out on the play, but gave Conley enough time to score, putting the Panthers up 1-0.
The Pitt offense added three more runs in the top of the fifth to pull ahead of the reining conference champions 4-0. Jordan Herr (RS FR/Lancaster, Pa./Delaware) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second when Conley tallied his third hit of the game. With no outs, Herr was picked off at second as Parise drew a walk to put two on for the Panthers.
Bucuren followed with an RBI single to center, scoring Conley. Bucuren leads the team with 17 RBIs and has tallied hits in 16 of the Panthers' 22 games. With Mullins at the plate, Bucuren stole his fifth base of the season, putting runners on second and third.
Mullins took advantage of the situation, ripping a two-run double down the left field line, moving the score to 4-0. The junior went 1-4 on the day, earning three RBIs.
"We came through tonight offensively," Jordano commented, "There were two occasions where we had two-out hits which led to three of our runs. I have great respect for Notre Dame, both as a university and as a baseball program. Anytime you beat a team like that, you have to feel good about it."
Pitt starter Rob Brant (JR/Mansfield, Pa./Mansfield) had a strong showing on the mound, as he kept the Notre Dame bats quite until the top of the sixth. Through five innings, Brant faced just 17 batters, retiring three-straight in all but the first inning. The Fighting Irish didn't tally their first hit until the sixth, when right fielder Brayden Ashdown ripped a leadoff single.
"Tonight was a very impressive effort by Rob Brant," Jordano said. "We really felt good with him out there on the mound."
Notre Dame used that fuel to score two in the sixth, when designated hitter Eddy Mendiola hit a two-run double to cut the Panthers' lead to 4-2. That would be the last of the Notre Dame runs, as Brant would finish the inning and go on to pitch a strong seventh before being replaced by the Big East's top closer Kyle Landis (RS SO/Hazelton, Pa./Hazelton). Landis held a conference-low 0.33 coming into tonight's game and proved his success thus far in 2007 with 1.2 solid innings on the mound as he earned the save.
Together, Brant and Landis allowed just four hits on the night, while recording 10 strikeouts. Landis continued to lower his ERA to 0.31, as he gave up no runs and just one hit in tonight's contest. Brant earned the win for the Panthers, moving his record to 2-3.
Phelps, the current Big East Pitcher of the Week, was given the loss as he fell to 4-2 on the season. The right-hander went 6.2 innings, giving up four runs off six hits, while striking out three.
"We can enjoy this success, but only for about 15 minutes," Jordano said. "We have to come back and get ready to play again tomorrow."
The Panthers and Fighting Irish will continue their weekend-series Saturday at Trees Field in a 3 p.m. match up and conclude play on Sunday at noon.
NOTES: Pitt is now 26-9 all-time against Notre Dame. With three singles and a double, Sean Conley tied his career-high with four hits in a game, a record he set last season against Duquesne on March 22. Conley was the lone Panther to tally more than one hit in tonight's game, as four players notched one hit each.
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