University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt Baseball Set for First Home Series This Season
3/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 16, 2012
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh baseball team (7-7) will host Hartford (1-11) this weekend, March 16-18, marking the first games played this season at Charles L. Cost Field at the Petersen Sports Complex.
Pitt enters the weekend coming off of a great outing by sophomore Matt Wotherspoon against Michigan State—a 3-1 victory for the Panthers and a game in which Wotherspoon struck out an impressive 13 batters. Hartford, on the other hand, hasn’t found the same kind of success as the Panthers in recent weeks, and heads into the series on a five-game losing streak. The Hawks have yet to win a game on the road this season, going 0-10 when matched up as the visiting team.
Although the Hawks are a considerably young team—19 of the team’s 28 players are either a freshman or sophomore—they do withhold some respectable offensive capability. As a team, Hartford is batting .276 with 52 runs scored on 113 hits, in addition to a modest .336 on-base percentage. Redshirt senior outfielder Andy Drexel has been at the forefront of such production, and is now batting .333 with 10 runs scored, four doubles, two home runs, and nine RBI on the year. Drexel, one of the team’s captains, has been known for his consistency at the plate, and has led the team in home runs in two of the last three seasons. Sophomore catcher James Alfonso is another reliable bat for the Hawks, batting .400 with eight runs scored, one home run, and holds a .529 on-base percentage.
Pitching has been an absolute concern for Hartford. Through 12 games this season, the Hawks have a team ERA of 7.99, and opposing teams are batting .314 against them. Also, Hartford has recorded 65 strikeouts compared to 84 walks. Sophomore Ryan Lukach has been the bright spot in this rotation, however, having received the team’s only winning decision on the year. Lukach is 1-0 with 6 1/3 innings pitched, seven strikeouts, and a .238 BAA. The Panthers may see freshman Sean Newcomb, sophomore Alex Gouin, or senior Mike Thatcher this weekend, who are all 0-2 with earned run averages greater than or equal to 5.87.
Pitt enters its home opener with a good amount of momentum collected in last week’s performances, as the Panthers have won three of their last five games. The Panthers’ offensive output has been outstanding thus far, characterized by the team’s 97 runs scored on 147 hits. Pitt has hit 39 extra-base hits (including seven home runs) this season and is batting .292 as a team, with an exceptional .387 on-base percentage.
Stellar effectiveness at the plate has been found especially in the bats of Anthony Defabio, Rick Devereaux, Casey Roche, and Elvin Soto. Defabio leads the team in batting average (.449) and on-base percentage (.591), and has scored 20 runs while driving in nine. Devereaux, the team’s leader in hits (25), is batting .397 with three home runs and 19 RBI. Also atop the list of production is Roche, who is batting .353 with 12 runs scored and 17 RBI. Soto, the team’s freshman catcher, has found his swing early this season, driving in 14 runs with four home runs (leading the team) to complement a .276 batting average.
Recently, there has been much promise seen in the Panthers pitching staff. After getting off to a rough start to begin the 2012 season, Pitt has put together a handful of quality starts that have turned into wins for the team. The team has recorded 118 strikeouts in 123 innings pitched (while walking just 51 batters), and has lowered its overall ERA to 6.07. Matt Iannazzo, expected to take the mound Friday afternoon, is now 3-0 with a 4.21 ERA. Wotherspoon, as mentioned before, is coming off of an incredible outing against Michigan State, and now holds a 2-0 record and 3.46 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched (11.1 strikeouts per nine innings). Mildren, expected to round out the weekend series against Hartford, is 1-0 and has recorded 17 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings pitched while only walking five.
Freshman closer Tanner Wilt has been excellent on the mound, and is coming off of a week where he was credited with two saves. Wilt is 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA and three saves, and has struck out nine in 5 2/3 innings while opponents have batted just .211 against him.
The first game of the three-game series begin Friday, March 16 at 3 p.m. Saturday’s game will be played at 3 p.m. as well, followed by the final game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
