Panthers Gear Up for Home-and-Home with Youngstown State
4/2/2018 8:33:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt, Penguins to Meet in Mid-Week Outings
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will take part in a home-and-home series with the Youngstown State Penguins, traveling to Youngstown, Ohio Tuesday before returning to Charles L. Cost Field Wednesday.
The Panthers and Penguins will meet at 6 p.m. at Eastwood Field on Tuesday as action on Wednesday in Pittsburgh is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Panthers and Penguins will meet at 6 p.m. at Eastwood Field on Tuesday as action on Wednesday in Pittsburgh is slated for a 3 p.m. first pitch.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats will be available for both contests.
- Wednesday's home match can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
- Fans can also follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Tickets can be purchased here for Wednesday's home meeting.
- Pitt (14-10, 4-8 ACC) returns to action for a pair of mid-weeks, traveling to Youngstown State for the first game of a home-and-home before returning to Charles L. Cost Field. Wednesday's game is a makeup of Pitt's home opener, was postponed due to inclement weather.
- Last weekend, the Panthers captured the series against Virginia, 2-1, for their first ACC series win of the season and first ever series win over Virginia. Pitt dropped the opener to the Cavaliers 10-7 on Friday, but pulled together a 7-5 eighth inning comeback win on Saturday. Pitt came out strong on Sunday, taking a decisive 4-1 victory to seal the series win.
- Frank Maldonado had an outstanding weekend, hitting his first home run of the season and tallying nine RBI over the series while going 5-9. Liam Sabino continues to dominate offensively, hitting at a team-best .345 clip with eight doubles, 23 runs and 19 RBI. Sabino hit his seventh homer of the season in game three against Virginia, a team high.
- Derek West (1-2) will get the start on the mound for the Panthers on Tuesday. West has a 3.77 ERA, and has allowed six earned runs off 13 hits and 11 walks in 14.1 innings while striking out 14. Wednesday's starter is TBD.
- Youngstown State (8-17) struggled to open the season but is hot as of late, coming into the series on a four-game win-streak, having won six of its last seven games. The Penguins last faced the University of Illinois Chicago, sweeping the Flames with three resounding victories for a Horizon League sweep.
- Sophomore transfer Blaze Glenn is leading the offensive charge for the Penguins, and is the only Youngstown State player to have played in all 25 games this season. Glenn, who is hitting a .302, currently has three doubles, 26 hits and 12 RBI with a .442 slugging percentage.
- Freshman lefty Colin Clark is set to get the start Tuesday, bringing in a 0-2 record with an 8.74 ERA. Clark has surrendered 17 (11 earned) off 18 hits and 12 walks, fanning just five in 11.1 innings. Senior Alex Bellardini will get the call Wednesday, bringing in a mark of 0-0 with a 9.69 ERA. He has allowed 15 runs (14 earned) off 19 hits and eight walks, whiffing 10 in 13.0 innings. It will be the first start of the season for Bellardini, who has made nine appearances in relief.
- Pitt holds an all-time advantage of 34-7-1 over the Penguins in a series dating back to the 1986 season, and has won 18 out of the last 20 matchups.
- Youngstown State's last win came on April 2, 2014 in a 7-6 decision in Youngstown. The last win for the Penguins in Pittsburgh came in 2007, when they defeated the Panthers 7-5.
- The two teams met once last year, with Pitt capturing a 3-2, 10-inning, walk-off victory at home.
- Alex Amos brings in the longest active hit streak, sitting at six games. Nico Popa and Frank Maldonado each sit at three, while Connor Perry is at two.
- Liam Sabino is riding the team's longest reach base streak at eight games, followed by Cole MacLaren (6), Amos (6) and Popa (6).
- The Panthers have been a solid defensive force this season, boasting the fourth best fielding percentage in the ACC. Pitt owns a .975 mark, tallying a league-low 22 errors adding 630 putouts and 230 assists in 882 chances.
- In conference play, the Panthers have put up the top defensive numbers in the ACC, owning a .980 percentage. In ACC action, Pitt has committed just nine errors, a league-best, while tallying 309 putouts and 122 assists in 440 opportunities.
- Since joining the Pitt offense after sitting out the entirety of the 2017 season due to NCAA transfer rules, redshirt junior Liam Sabino has been a force to be reckoned with for the Panthers. Sabino is hitting at a .345 clip, leading the team with eight doubles and seven homers as well as 19 RBI, behind only David Yanni (22) and Frank Maldonado (20). Sabino owns a .678 slugging percentage, which currently ranks 41st in the nation and third in the ACC.
- Sabino is also 13-of-14 in stolen bases on the season, swiping 0.54 per game, a mark that ranks 32nd in the NCAA.
- Frank Maldonado has made his at bats count this season, quickly tallying his way to 21 RBI on the season, the second best mark on the squad.
- With a spectacular performance against Virginia in which he amassed nine RBI after hitting at a .556 clip, Maldonado now ranks second on the team with a .313 average, totaling five doubles and one homer with a .410 slugging percentage and a .383 on base mark.
- Maldonado owns a .444 (12-27) mark with runners in scoring position, boasting a .846 (11-13) percentage with a runner on third and less than two outs, both of which pace the starting group.
- 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 15 times so far this season, on pace for 32 dingers, two more than the 2017 total. Liam Sabino has seen his number stuck to the helmet a team-best seven times, while David Yanni, Nico Popa and Nick Banman sit at two and Ron Washington Jr. and Frank Maldonado at one.
- Redshirt junior Liam Sabino has knocked seven home runs on the season to pace the Panther offense. Sabino's mark ranks sixth in the ACC, as the leader is Brett Kinneman (12) of NC State. Sabino is on pace for just over 14 homers this season.
- On the season, Sabino has tallied two multiple homer games, smacking two against USC Upstate and Saint Peter's.
- The Vanderbilt transfer has eight homers in his career, bringing one from his former team.
- Pitt returns to ACC play this weekend, heading to Boston College for three games in Chestnut Hill, Mass. with the Eagles. Play will get underway at 4 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's game set for 2 p.m. and Sunday's finale at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
INF/RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballPitt Baseball | The Cardiac Cats do it again and defeat Louisville 13-11!
Wednesday, May 21
Pitt's Jayden Melendez Hits The Bull
Wednesday, May 21
Pitt First Baseman Luke Cantwell's Beautiful Basket Catch
Wednesday, May 21
Highlights | Pitt 13, Louisville 11 | ACC Tournament
Tuesday, May 20