Pitt
Army
Pitt Sweeps Doubleheader Against Army at Russ Matt Invitational
3/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 13, 2011
Auburndale, Fla. - The Pitt baseball team extended its winning streak to five games Saturday, notching two victories over Army at the Russ Matt Invitational in Auburndale, Fla. The Panthers defeated the Black Knights, 4-1 in game one followed by a 7-0 shutout in game two.
The Panthers are now 8-2 overall and a perfect 3-0 at the tournament. On Friday, the Panthers pounded Central Michigan, 19-2.
Because of the doubleheader schedule, both games consisted of seven innings instead of the regular nine.
In the first game, junior Matt Iannazzo evened his record to 1-1 with a complete game, pitching all seven innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run while striking out seven and walking none.
The Panthers scored all four runs in the first inning, courtesy of a two-run single by senior David Chester and a two-run double by junior Anthony Defabio.
Pitt finished with nine hits compared to Army's three. Chester and freshman Stephen Vranka led the Panthers with two hits each.
In the second game of the doubleheader, freshman Matt Wotherspoon was dominating in his first career start. Wotherspoon allowed just one hit while striking out eight batters in five innings of work to earn his first victory as a Panther.
The Panthers jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when senior Kevan Smith hit his second home run of the season.
Junior Rick Devereaux added a two-run single in the fifth inning and a sacrifice fly in the seventh to finish the game with three RBI.
Chester added three hits and scored two runs while seniors Travis Whitmore and Sean Toole each added two hits.
Sophomore Alex Caravella pitched the final two innings in relief, giving up just one hit and striking out four batters.
In the first three games of the Russ Matt Invitational, the Panthers have outscored the opponent by a combined total of 30-3.
Pitt looks to continue its hot streak against Big Ten opponent Michigan State on Sunday at 10 a.m., before finishing the Invitational with an 11 a.m. matchup against Indiana.
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