Panthers Prepare for No. 25 Georgia Tech
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 7, 2016
Pitt Game Notes | Georgia Tech Game Notes
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will return to Charles L. Cost Field this weekend, welcoming No. 25 Georgia Tech for a three-game series.
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rivals will face off on ESPN3 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the Panthers compete in their fourth series against a nationally ranked opponent of the season.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats provided by GameTracker: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
- ESPN3 will live broadcast the outing via WatchESPN or the WatchESPN App: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
LEADING OFF
- Pitt (13-11-0, 5-7 ACC) returns home to face No. 25 Georgia Tech (22-7-0, 6-6-0 ACC) for a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field
- The Panthers are coming off of a 7-0 shutout loss at the hands of Penn State on Tuesday
- In Pitt’s last ACC outing, the Panthers took game two of a three-game stand against No. 24 Clemson, as Pitt took a 15-5 decision over the Tigers
- Georgia Tech is coming off of a pair of non-conference victories as the Yellow Jackets knocked off Mercer (6-5) and Kennesaw State (4-2) on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively
- The Yellow Jackets opened last weekend’s series vs. Duke with a 3-2 win, but fell in the final two contests to drop the series
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
- Junior Connor Justus paces the Georgia Tech offense, batting .395 (45-of-114) with 29 starts, including 12 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 19 RBIs
- Kel Johnson has brought the most men around for the Yellow Jackets with 30 RBIs on the season in addition to an on-base percentage of .652
- On the bump, Brandon Gold is the ace of the Georgia Tech staff, with a 3-1 record over seven starts and an ERA of 2.23, allowing just 47 hits through 44.1 innings of work
- Also scheduled to get a start on the weekend, Zac Ryan has earned a record of 1-0 in six appearances (four starts) with an ERA of 4.50 in 16.0 innings of work
SERIES WITH GEORGIA TECH
- The Panthers hold the all-time series advantage with the Yellow Jackets, 4-2, in a series that dates back to Pitt’s inaugural ACC season in 2014
- Pitt opened up the history books with a sweep of the then 23rd-ranked Yellow Jackets at Charles L. Cost Field
- The following season (2015), Georgia Tech took two-of-three from Pitt on its home field
STREAKING
- The Panthers’ poor offensive output against Penn State snapped several streaks, as just two Panthers carry hit streaks into the weekend
- Ron Sherman leads the way with a five-game mark, while Caleb Parry has hit in four straight
- On the season, Charles Leblanc and Nick Yarnall have each posted 10-game hit streaks, while Sherman’s longest mark ended at nine games
- Parry paces the Panthers with a seven-game reached-base streak, while Sherman’s mark stands at six
- Yarnall and Aaron Schnurbusch have each copped 13-game on-base streaks this season
TRUST IN CHARLES
- Shortstop Charles Leblanc has been dominant for the Panthers this season, leading one of the top offenses in the nation in just his second season of collegiate baseball
- Leblanc is fourth in the ACC with an average of .423 through 24 games, recording 41 hits to tie for fifth in the conference
- In addition, Leblanc has posted a team-high 15 multiple hit games and seven multiple RBI performances, including a six-RBI outing against Clemson (April 2) and a five-RBI showing at Grambling State (Feb. 28)
LEBLANC NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- After a 12-RBI performance in four games, shortstop Charles Leblanc was named the ACC Player of the Week on April 4
- Leblanc went 9-of-13 on the weekend with an outstanding nine RBIs, batting .692 in the three games against Clemson
- Leblanc’s offensive surge led the Panthers to a 15-5 victory over nationally-ranked Clemson in game two of the series as the shortstop went 4-of-5 with six RBIs
- Leblanc posted similar numbers in the mid-week win over Kent State, going 2-of-4 with two runs scored and three RBI to bring his four-game average to an impressive .647 (11-of-17) with 12 RBI in four games
UP NEXT
- Pitt will head to West Virginia on Tuesday for a mid-week battle with the Mountaineers in Granville, W.Va.
- A road ACC series will follow as the Panthers are set to meet with Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on April 15-17
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