Pitt
Louisville
Panthers Open ACC Play at No. 4 Louisville
3/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Pitt Game Notes
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh baseball team gets ACC play underway this weekend, traveling to Louisville, KY, for a three-game series with No. 4 Louisville.
The Panthers and Cardinals will get things started at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday and Sunday's games both set for 1 p.m. from Jim Patterson Stadium.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Game One
- Stats: SIDEARM Sports
- Listen: CardsTV
- TV: ACCNE
- Stats: SIDEARM Sports
- Listen: CardsTV
- TV: ACCNE
- Stats: SIDEARM Sports
- Listen: CardsTV
- TV: ACCNE
LEADING OFF
Pitt (7-4, 0-0 ACC) opens up ACC play this weekend, facing a tough test early on with a road trip to No. 4 Louisville (12-0, 0-0 ACC). The Panthers are coming off a 1-3 showing in a weekend in Spartanburg, S.C., splitting a doubleheader with USC Upstate and falling in single game matchups with Wofford and Wright State. The Panthers opened the season with a flash, going 6-1 through the first two weekends. The loss to Wofford snapped a five-game win-streak, which included a win over reigning Big 10 Champion Ohio State and a series sweep of Siena.
SCOUTING LOUISVILLE
The Cardinals are the ACC's only remaining undefeated team as they sit atop the league standings and are the conference's highest ranked team in the NCBWA Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 4.
Reigning NCBWA Player of the Month Brendan McKay highlights the Cardinal offense and is also a formidable foe on the bump. McKay is hitting an impressive .613 in 31 at bats, with one double, one triple, four home runs and 15 RBI including a 1.097 slugging percentage, .689 on base percentage and just four strikeouts. On the hill, McKay is slated to get the fall Friday evening as the lefty brings a 0.82 ERA and 2-0 record into the weekend. In 11.0 innings pitched, he's struck out 14, surrendering just two runs (one earned) off six hits and four walks.
Joining McKay in Louisville's offensive arsenal, five additional players are all hitting above a .300 clip with Logan Taylor (.422) and Drew Ellis (.415) leading the way. Ellis' 17 RBIs lead the team and his .829 slugging percentage is second only to McKay.
Righty Kade McClure is set to go on Saturday, as he brings a 1-0 record and a 2.87 ERA into the outing. McClure has tossed a team-high 15.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) off 10 hits and seven walks, but fanning a team-high 23 batters. He'll be followed by the left-handed Nick Bennett who owns a 1-0 record and 0.90 ERA and will get the ball on Sunday. Bennett has thrown 10.0 innings of work, allowing one run off of three hits and five walks, tallying 11 strikeouts.
SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE
In a series dating back to the 1978 season, Louisville holds a 14-8-0 all-time advantage over the Panthers. Just three meetings have come in ACC play as the Cardinals swept the Panthers in Louisville in 2013. The pair met regularly as both were former members of the Big East Conference.
The Panthers' last win over the Cardinals came on May 18, 2012 as they claimed an 8-2 decision at home. Pitt won the series in 2010 and 2008, both at home.
WHO'S STREAKING
First baseman Caleb Parry brings the longest hit-streak into the weekend, recording at least one hit in seven straight outings. Both P.J. DeMeo, Frank Maldonado and David Yanni boast three-game marks, while Nick Banman sits at two. Parry's seven-game streak is the longest of the season by any Panther as freshman Nico Popa saw a six-game streak snapped last weekend.
Parry also holds a 12-game reached-base streak which extends into last season as the redshirt junior paces the Panthers. Maldonado also holds a double-digit streak, sitting at 10. In addition, Yanni sits at six games, followed by DeMeo at three and Banman at two. Parry and Maldonado's marks are the longest of the year by the Panther batters, followed by Banman and Popa who each had seven-game marks snapped.
HOT START
The Panthers are off to their best start heading into ACC play since joining the league prior to the 2014 season. Pitt's mark of 7-4 (.636) bests last year's 6-4 (.600). In 2015 the Panthers went 2-6 (.250) to open the season and in 2014 went 4-5 (.444), which included a series win over 2016 NCAA Champion Coastal Carolina in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
PITCHERS LEAD THE WAY
The Panther pitching staff has been stellar to start the season, ranking fifth in the ACC with a team ERA of 2.88. The starting trio of Josh Mitchell, Matt Pidich and Josh Falk have shined in their collective nine outings, led by Mitchell's 1.08 ERA.
Mitchell has gotten the call in three starts, but falling to 0-1 on the season. In his 16.2 innings pitched, Mitchell has allowed just two earned runs off four walks and 14 hits, registering 13 strikeouts. Pidich brings a 2-0 record and a 1.89 ERA into the weekend, having surrendered four runs off six walks and 11 hits, striking out 13.
Falk has seen the most work for the Panther staff, as Pitt's only returning starting pitcher. In his 19.1 innings, he boasts a record of 2-1 and a 2.79 ERA. Falk has allowed six runs off six walks and 14 hits, fanning a team-leading 17 batters.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will make their home debut next week, hosting St. Peter's in a Tuesday-Wednesday matchup at Charles L. Cost Field. Pitt and the Peacocks will face off at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14 with the finale on Wednesday, March 15 at 1 p.m. ACC play will resume that weekend as Notre Dame visits Cost Field for a three-game series March 17-19.
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