Friday, March 16
Chapel Hill, NC
6 PM
Pitt
at
North Carolina
Pitt Returns to ACC Play, Visits North Carolina
3/15/2018 2:35:00 PM | Baseball
Panthers Prepare for Road Test with Perennial Powerhouse Tar Heels
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will get back into ACC play this weekend, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a meeting with the powerhouse North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Panthers, who saw their Tuesday contest canceled after 1.5 innings due to snow, will take part in their first game since capturing a 15-10 victory over ACC rival Virginia Tech in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Panthers, who saw their Tuesday contest canceled after 1.5 innings due to snow, will take part in their first game since capturing a 15-10 victory over ACC rival Virginia Tech in the second game of a doubleheader on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats are available here.
- The game will be streamed live on the ACC Network Extra via Watch ESPN and the WatchESPN app.
- Fans can also follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Tickets for all three games can be purchased here.
- Pitt (11-4, 1-2 ACC) returns to action this weekend, taking on ACC Coastal Division rival North Carolina in a three-game series in Chapel Hill, N.C. On Tuesday, the Panthers home opener against Youngstown State was postponed after 1.5 innings due to snow.
- Liam Sabino continues to dominate offensively, hitting .364 through 15 games while leading the team with 18 runs, 20 hits and six home runs. Freshman Ron Washington Jr. impressed in the doubleheader against Virginia Tech last weekend, the first ACC appearances of his career, hitting .429 and smacking two doubles.
- Things have begun to click for Frank Maldonado, who had hits on four of his five at bats in game two of the doubleheader against the Hokies. David Yanni also dazzled in game two, smashing a double and a home run to aid in the Panthers' offensive eruption.
- Derek West will get the start on Friday, followed by Matt Pidich on Saturday and Blair Calvo on Sunday. West (1-1) is making his third start of the year, and has a 1.46 ERA. Pidich (2-0), has a 1.19 ERA while pitching a team high 22.2 innings, and is tied for the team best in strikeouts with 29. Calvo is not far behind, having struck out 24 batters over his four starts since returning from Tommy John surgery.
- North Carolina (9-8, 1-2 ACC) enters the game after splitting a pair of midweek contests with North Carolina AT&T (W, 1-0) and Gardener Webb (L, 0-1). The Tar Heels dropped their last ACC series, 2-1, to nationally-ranked Louisville and fell out of the NCBWA Top 25 poll.
- As a team, the Tar Heels are hitting .255 led by Kyle Datres (.333) and Cody Roberts (.309) as the only hitters above the .300 mark. Michael Busch leads the team with 21 RBI, while Brandon Martorano paces the Tar Heels with five homers.
- Tyler Baum is set to get the start in the opener, bringing in a record of 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA. He has thrown 22.0 innings, allowing 11 runs off 17 hits and eight walks, fanning a team-best 30. Austin Bergner will get the call on Saturday, owning a 2-1 record with a 7.30 ERA. He's made just two starts on the season, allowing 12 runs (10 earned) off 13 hits and nine walks, fanning 15 in 12.1 innings. Taylor Sugg will take the hill in the finale, owning a mark of 1-0 with a 6.00 ERA. He's thrown 12.0 innings, surrendering 10 runs (eight earned) off 13 hits and eight walks, striking out 12. The Tar Heels suffered a huge loss this season as ace Gianluca Dalatri has been out since the second week of the season.
- Pitt is 5-7-0 all-time against North Carolina in a series dating back to the 2014 season when the Panthers joined the ACC.
- Last season, the Panthers met the Tar Heels at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh for a three-game series, dropping the first two games, capturing the last game from the then third-ranked Tar Heels.
- The last time the Pitt visited Chapel Hill it walked away with one victory on the weekend, capturing a win in the last game of the series
- Lefty Connor Perry brings the longest hit streak into the game, sitting at seven. Chris Cappas (3), David Yanni (2) and Cole MacLaren (2) also bring multi-hit games into the outing.
- Yanni's reach base streak of 21 games, dating back to the 2017 season, is the longest active streak for the Panthers. MacLaren's 15 game streak sits at second, while Perry is at nine.
- Any time a Pitt batter hits a home run this season, as he crosses the plate fans may notice him sport a gold construction helmet, adorned with the 3-D script P logo and a smattering of numbers of those who have lined one over the wall before. It's the home run helmet.
- Dreamt up by redshirt senior Caleb Parry, the Panthers have used the home run helmet nine times so far this season, on pace for 33 dingers, three more than the 2017 season total. Liam Sabino has seen his number stuck to the helmet a team-best six times, while David Yanni sits at two and Nick Banman one.
- Redshirt junior Liam Sabino has knocked six home runs on the season to pace the Panther offense. Sabino's mark ranks second in the ACC, behind Brett Kinneman (8) of NC State. Sabino is on pace for 22 homers this season which would tie the program's single season record.
- On the season, Sabino has tallied two multiple homer games, smacking two against USC Upstate and Saint Peter's.
- The Vanderbilt transfer has seven homers in his career, bringing one from his former team.
- Heading into league play, the Panthers pitching staff boasts the best numbers in the ACC, recording a 2.25 ERA. Pitt's ERA is the seventh best in the country. Pitt has allowed just 33 earned runs in 15 games, striking out 159 batters and holding opponents to a league-best .206 average.
- Sophomore reliever RJ Freure has been electric in his five appearances, whiffing a team-best 29 batters in 17.0 innings. He owns a 1.59 ERA, having given up just three runs off eight hits and only six walks. He's holding opponents to a .138 average and owns a 2-1 record thus far.
- Freure's mark of 15.35 strikeouts per nine innings pitched is the 12th-best mark in the country.
- Pitt will travel to rival Penn State on March 21 for the first of a home-and-home with the Nittany Lions.
- The Panthers will make their home ACC debut the following weekend, hosting Duke for a three-game tilt at Charles L. Cost Field.
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