Pitt
Louisville
Baseball Tops Louisville, 7-2, In Home-Opener
3/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 28, 2008
PITTSBURGH--The Pitt baseball team ended a five-game skid Friday evening, downing Big East foe Louisville, 7-2, in its 2008 home-opener at Trees Field. The Panthers racked up 14 hits in their first conference win of the season, including a solo homerun from first baseman Morgan Kielty, as five players recorded multi-hit efforts against a Cardinal team that advanced to the College World Series last season.
Pitt (7-12, 1-3) used momentum from key defensive plays by left fielder Sean Conley (SR/Chippewa, Pa./Blackhawk) to keep the Cardinals (13-8, 2-2) at bay. Conley connected with catcher Nick Mullins (SR/Brick, N.J./Brookdale Community College) twice in the first two innings, gunning
Dan Williams (SR/Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal Academy) gave Pitt an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, ripping an RBI-single through the right side as Conley crossed the plate for the game's first run.
Mullins helped to extend the Panthers' lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second, notching a leadoff double. With one out, Mullins advanced to third on a passed ball and was brought home on a sac-fly by teammate Jordan Herr (RS SO/Lancaster, Pa/Delaware).
The Pitt offense continued its scoring drive in the third as Williams tallied his second RBI of the day with a one-out double to right center, scoring teammate Danny Lopez (SO/Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy).
With the hit, Williams has now recorded a team-high eight doubles on the season. Designated hitter Chris Warner (RS JR/West Seneca, N.Y./University of South
Enjoying a 4-0 lead, Pitt starter Nate Reed (SO/Reading, Pa./Olley Valley) allowed the Cardinals just two hits through the game's first five innings.
With two outs, Dominguez singled up the middle and advanced to third when teammate Jeff Arnold doubled to right field. With Derrick Alfonso at the plate, Dominguez charged for home as Reed delivered his pitch, sliding under Mullins' tag for the
The Panthers answered in the bottom-half of the inning, tallying two runs of their own as Conley ripped a two-RBI double through the right side, extending Pitt's lead to 7-2. Conley has now tallied a team- and conference-high 28 RBI on the season after a 3-5 effort at the plate with two RBI in today's game.
Kielty (JR/Burlington, Ontario/Burlington) added Pitt's seventh and final run of the game in the seventh inning, launching his second homerun of the season over the right field wall off
The Cardinal offense mustered a second run in the top of the eighth, but was unable to gain anymore ground on the Panthers as Reed (3-3) threw his first complete game of the season. The lefty retired six of the last seven batters he faced, while allowing just one earned run off seven hits to pick up the win.
Cardinal starter Zack Pitts earned just his second loss of the season, going 5.2 innings with five strikes outs, while giving up six runs off 11 hits.
Conley, Lopez, Williams, Warner and right fielder John Shultz (FR/West Lawn, Pa./Wilson West Lawn) all recorded multi-hit efforts in the Panther win, as Conley and Williams combine for four of Pitt's seven RBI.
The Pitt-Louisville series will continue tomorrow at Trees Field with a 3 p.m. game and conclude with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday.
