Pitt Gears Up for Road Mid-Week at Youngstown State

Wednesday, March 27

Youngstown, OH

5 PM

Pitt

Youngstown State

Pitt Gears Up for Road Mid-Week at Youngstown State

3/26/2019 4:45:00 PM | Baseball

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Panthers Hit the Road for Mid-Week Tilt in Ohio

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will take part in its first road mid-week contest of the season, traveling to Youngstown State for a Wednesday evening contest.

The Panthers and Penguins are set for a 5 p.m. first pitch at Eastwood Field in Youngstown, Ohio, in the second of three scheduled games between the two programs in the 2019 campaign.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The game can be seen live via YSNLive.
Live stats will be available here.
Fans can follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.

LEADING OFF

Pitt (7-15, 1-8 ACC) looks to snap a four-game losing skid, traveling to regional foe Youngstown State for the second of three scheduled games with the Penguins on the season. The Panthers enter the game after falling in all three games of a weekend slate at ACC Coastal Division rival Virginia.
Offensively, Connor Perry and Ron Washington Jr. continue to carry the Panther offense, as both are hitting tops in the ACC. Perry ranks 14th in the league and leads the Pitt offense with a .338 average, adding four doubles, one triple, five homers and eight RBI. Against Virginia, the outfielder hit at a .500 clip, tallying four RBI with three homers six runs scored, five walks and two stolen bases. Washington Jr. is hitting at a .304 average, adding nine doubles and two homers with nine RBI.
Freshman Billy Corcoran will get the start on the mound for the Panthers, his third of the season. The appearance will be the 11th of the right-hander's season, as he leads the staff with a 2.19 ERA. On the season, Corcoran has allowed just six earned runs off 18 hits and six walks, striking out 22 and holding opponents to a .198 average. He boasts a 0.99 WHIP and ranks in the top 10 in the league in ERA and opponent average.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE

Youngstown State (2-20, 1-6 Horizon) enters the game on a two-game skid after capturing a series-opening victory over Oakland last weekend. The Penguins will face Bowling Green Tuesday before returning home to face the Panthers Wednesday.
The Penguins are hitting .185 as a team, led by Drew Dickerson, who is hitting at a .255 clip. Trevor Wiersma leads the way with 14 RBI, followed by Blaze Glenn (12).
Sophomore right-hander Dalton Earich will make the start, his second of the season. He brings in a 6.08 ERA and a 0-1 record, having allowed 11 runs (nine earned) off 18 hits and 11 walks, striking out 10 in 13.1 innings of work and allowing a .321 opponent average.

SERIES WITH YOUNGSTOWN STATE

The game will be the 45th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series dating back to the 1986 season.
Pitt owns a 35-8-1 all-time record, including a mark of 10-4 in games played in Youngstown.
Youngstown State captured the first meeting of the season, taking a 4-2 decision over the Panthers at Charles L. Cost Field.
The Panthers have won 19 of the last 21 meetings dating back to the 2009 season.

WHO'S STREAKING

Freshman infielder Gregory Ryan Jr. leads the way with a four-game hit streak, followed by Ron Washington Jr. (3) and Connor Perry (3).
Washington Jr.'s 20-game reached base streak paces the Panther offense. Perry sits at six games, followed by Kyle Hess (5), David Yanni (4) and Ryan Jr. (4).

PITT ON MARCH 27

The Panthers own a record of 12-4 all-time in games played on March 27.

RON REMAINS HOT

There's been no slump for sophomore Ron Washington Jr. as the outfielder/designated hitter has continued to shine in the Panther offense.
Washington Jr. has tallied nine doubles in 22 games this season, ranking sixth in the ACC and 50th in the nation.
On the season, he's hitting at a .304 clip, tallying 11 extra base hits with nine RBI and a .494 slugging percentage.
He paces the Panther offense in league play, hitting for a .375 average with a .531 slugging mark and a .444 on base percentage. His average in ACC play ranks 13th in the conference.

PERRY PACING PANTHERS

Outfielder Connor Perry is having a season to remember, putting up impressive offensive numbers in his senior season.
Perry leads the Panther offense with a .338 average, tallying four doubles, one triple and five homers with eight RBI. He owns a .622 slugging percentage and a .479 on base mark, going 5-6 on the base paths.
His average ranks 14th in the ACC, while his on base mark ranks ninth and his slugging percentage sits at seventh.

POPA'S POP

After missing a majority of the 2018 campaign due to injury, junior Nico Popa has returned to the lineup with a purpose for the 2019 squad. Popa is hitting at a .289 mark, ranking third on the team, tallying 12 RBI to rank second on the offense.
He leads the ACC with three triples, boasting a .422 slugging mark and a .369 on base percentage.
Popa has swiped two bases on the season, drawing eight walks and three hit by pitches, adding five doubles.

CORCORAN COMMANDING

Freshman Billy Corcoran has had an impressive start to his collegiate baseball career, putting up strong numbers as he looks for a spot in the weekend rotation.
Corcoran ranks ninth in the ACC with a 2.19 ERA, leading all Pitt pitchers. On the season, he's struck out 22 over 24.2 innings of work, holding opponents to a .198 average.
In league play the hard-throwing righty hasn't shied away, owning the ACC's fourth best ERA in conference action, with a mark of 1.20. He's collected 15.0 innings of work in the conference, letting up just two runs off nine hits and three walks, fanning 11 and holding opponents to a .167 average.

SMITH NAMED TO STOPPER WATCHLIST

Sophomore reliever Chase Smith was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watchlist, an award annually given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
The Georgia native made 22 appearances as a true freshman, third most on the team. He held opponents to just a .191 average, competing to a record of 1-1 with one save and a 3.16 ERA.
Smith is one of five ACC pitchers to garner the recognition and marks the second straight season in which a Pitt reliever has earned the preseason distinction (Yasin Chentouf).

MALVERN CONNECTION

Freshman pitchers Billy Corcoran and Brady Devereux are no strangers to one another, as the duo comes to Pitt after stellar careers at Malvern Prep in Malvern, Pa.
The pair won three state championships at Malvern, collecting the state title in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
Both nationally touted recruits and highly sought after Pennsylvania player, both ranked in the top five amongst right handed pitchers and in the top 20 in the state of Pennsylvania by Perfect Game.

BRING IN BELL

Mike Bell is in his first season as head coach at Pitt after a seven-year stint as the associate head coach for ACC powerhouse Florida State. He brings 14 years of Division I coaching experience to the program and has coached 47 MLB draft picks, including 2006's No. 1 overall pick Luke Hochevar.
In 2012, he was named the Perfect Game Assistant Coach of the Year and before the 2017 season, was named the No. 13 recruiter in the country by D1Baseball.com. In the last 13 years, Bell has also helped lead three teams to four College World Series appearances - Tennessee (2005), Oklahoma (2010), and Florida State (2012 & 2017). In his time at Florida State, the program won three ACC titles in 2015, 2017, and 2018 and his pitchers have recorded 500 or more strikeouts.

SUMMER CATCH

Junior pitcher Dan Hammer had a summer to remember in the prestigious Cape Cod League, earning national recognition in his second stint with the Chatham Anglers. The hard-throwing righty was the East Division's starting pitcher in the 2018 Cape Cod League All-Star game and put up impressive numbers splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation.
The Panthers' righty was one of the best in the nation's top collegiate summer league, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.16 ERA in 25.0 innings for the Anglers, striking out 20 in the process.
The Chatham Anglers are no stranger to Pitt pitchers, having hosted 2016 First Round Draft pick T.J. Zeuch, as well as 2017 19th round pick Isaac Mattson and 2018 Sixth Round pick RJ Freure.

ALL SIGNS POINT WEST

Redshirt junior pitcher Derek West had a solid season in the Cape Cod League, pitching with the league champion Wareham Gatemen. After joining the Gatemen in July, West made four appearances, including two starts, competing to a 1.10 ERA in 16.1 innings. He allowed just two runs off eight hits and six walks, striking out 15 and holding opponents to a .143 average.

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