University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Panthers Gear Up for Big East Weekend
5/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 7, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh baseball team takes a half-game lead over Connecticut in the Big East standings into this weekend's three-game series with the Huskies. The Panthers look to even the score after UConn completed a three-game sweep last season at Trees Field.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Connecticut enters this weekend’s series coming off a 2-1 series win against Notre Dame last weekend. The Huskies are 5-5 in the last 10 games overall and just 9-9 at home this season.
Freshman outfielder George Springer was tabbed the Big East Conference Player of the Week for the period ending May 4th, providing the Huskies with their first conference weekly award. Springer is slugging .701 for the season and has hit 14 home runs and driven in 51 RBI, all of which rank in the top five of the Big East Conference rankings.
SERIES HISTORY
Connecticut has won the last four straight against Pitt and leads the overall series 31-23. The Huskies swept the Panthers in the season-ending Big East Conference series held at Trees Field in Pittsburgh. The last time the Panthers travled to Storrs was April 9-10, 2005, when they took two of three from the Huskies.
BIG TIMERS
For the third time this season, the Panther baseball team will be playing in a professional stadium. Pitt and Connecticut will meet in Norwich, Conn. at Dodd Stadium, home of the Connecticut Defenders, Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
Pitt is 1-1 in games played in professional parks, defeating Youngstown State 7-6 on March 17th at Eastwood Field (Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) while falling 5-2 to cross-town rival Duquesne at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
TOM EMANSKI STYLE
Kevan Smith’s RBI single in the fifth inning against Cleveland State pushed his hitting streak to 15 games this season. Smith, who joined the baseball team in February after having played two seasons as a quarterback on the Pitt football squad, is batting .351 for the year and has made 20 starts on the year as a catcher and designated hitter. His current streak is the longest since Jim Negrych’s 19-game hitting streak during the 2006 season.
NO ERROR ABOUT IT
Pitt enters this weekend as the best fielding team in the Big East Conference and ranks 25th in the nation. So far this season, the Panthers have committed just 42 errors in 1,603 chances in the field for a .974 fielding percentage.
RANK AND FILE
The Panthers as a team rank among the nation’s best in several categories while second baseman Chris Sedon continues to climb the national ranks in nearly every offensive category.
Team
Fielding Percentage, 25th (.974)
Stolen Bases Per Game, 39th (1.72p/g)
Double Plays Per Game, 12th (1.18p/g)
Chris Sedon Rankings
Home Runs Per Game, 29th (0.36p/g)
Runs Per Game, 18th (1.36p/g)
Slugging Percentage, 47th (.727)
