Pitt To Face Eastern Michigan in Florida
2/20/2020 6:02:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Pitt baseball (3-1) returns to the Sunshine State for the second weekend of the season for a three-game series against Eastern Michigan (1-2) in Sanford. Starting with a 6 p.m. game on Friday, the series will be held in Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium with the Panthers slated as the home team for each contest.
HOW TO FOLLOW
STARTING PITCHERS
LAST TIME OUT: SNOWBIRD CLASSIC
BIG RON AT THE PLATE
MANY, MANY NEW PANTHER FACES
Returning Panthers
ALL TIME SERIES
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
YEAR 2
UP NEXT
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Without a live stream, fans can follow along with live stats HERE.
- Updates from the weekend also are provided on Twitter. Follow @Pitt_BASE for the latest news and updates about the team.
STARTING PITCHERS
- Friday: Billy Corcoran (1-0, 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts, 1.00 WHIP) | Luke McGuire (1-0, 4.50 ERA, four strikeouts, 0.83 WHIP)
- Saturday: Mitch Myers (0-1, 3.60 ERA, five strikeouts, 1.60 WHIP) | Justin Meis (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 10 strikeouts, 1.00 WHIP)
- Sunday: Matt Gilbertson (0-1, 0.00 ERA, five strikeouts, 1.14 WHIP) | TBA
LAST TIME OUT: SNOWBIRD CLASSIC
- On Opening Weekend, the Panthers went 3-1 in the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla.
- Pitt defeated Indiana State 11-1 and Saint Joseph's 14-8 (14 innings) on Opening Day, dropped a 4-1 game against Ohio State Saturday and concluded with a 10-8 win over Iowa.
- The Panthers scored 36 runs, the most in an Opening Weekend since 2016 (39 in four games).
- Pitt had to comeback twice late in the game to secure victories, using a solo homer by Ron Washington Jr. in the ninth inning against the Hawks to tie the game and five runs in the eighth inning and last trip to the plate against the Hawkeyes.
- The Panthers scored at least a run in the first inning in all four games.
- Pitt had the top record in the six-team tournament with Iowa and Ohio State both going 2-1.
BIG RON AT THE PLATE
- Designated hitter Ron Washington Jr. led the way at the plate for the Panthers, batting 7-17 (.412) with seven runs, eighth RBI's, three walks and two hit-by-pitches.
- Washington Jr. posted two home runs and two doubles for a .882 slugging percentage and tied his home run mark from all of last season.
- A third-team all-conference selection in 2018, he looks to increase his numbers like he did last year. Limited to 39 games, he batted .306 last year with a team-high 17 double and two homers for a .465 slugging percentage.
MANY, MANY NEW PANTHER FACES
- Head coach Mike Bell welcomes 21 newcomers to this year's team, the most of any ACC squad.
- These new players came from various routes before arriving to campus with nine JUCO transfers, 10 true freshmen out of high school and two Division I transfers.
- The newcomers have already been trusted on to make immediate impacts, with four positions featuring new players starting every game: centerfield (Jordan Anderson), first base (Bryce Hulett and Grant Santangelo), third base (Samuel Frontino) and catcher (Riley Wash and Nick Vera).
- Wash and Vera split duties behind the plate and combined to throw out all four baserunners attempting to steal. Wash had a team-high .444 batting average with a home run, two doubles and four RBI's.
- Anderson led off each game and recorded five hits, including two doubles, and a stolen base.
- Hulett went 4-13 (.308) with a double and three RBI's, and Frontino drew five walks in addition to a triple.
- Two of the Panthers' starting pitchers also made their debuts, Mitch Myers and Matt Gilbertson. Gilbertson started against Iowa and allowed no earned runs and walks and eight hits with five strikeouts in seven innings while Myers went five innings against Ohio State with six hits, two runs, two walks and five strikeouts.
Returning Panthers
- Pitt has 12 letterwinners return from last year's squad, including proven talent that has garnered ACC accolades.
- Nico Popa had a breakout 2019 season to be one of the best hitters in the league and earn ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team and All-ACC Second Team Honors. He led the conference in triples (five) and ranked fifth in batting average (.353). Also, he provided much power at the plate with 28 extra-base hits, including 15 doubles and eight homers, for 39 RBI's.
- Billy Corcoran showed he belonged right away as a freshman and will be counted on to be once again a weekend starter for the Panthers. In 2019 he ranked 2nd on the team in ERA (3.80) and WHIP (1.32) along with 54 strikeouts.
- Sky Duff (second base) and Kyle Hess (left field) are the two other returning starters for Pitt. Both claimed starting roles right away as freshman last season and look for breakout sophomore campaigns. Duff led the team with 40 walks, ranked fourth in batting average (.260) and had eight doubles. Hess had 10 extra-base hits and 33 RBI's.
ALL TIME SERIES
- Eastern Michigan has won two of the three meetings, sweeping a doubleheader on March 3, 1998.
- Pitt won the first meeting 4-3 in 1989.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
- Playing a three-game series last weekend against Austin Peay, Eastern Michigan won the first game 16-8 and dropped the last two games 7-6 and 13-6.
- Shane Easter lead the team with a .571 batting average with 7 at bats and 4 hits. He had one homerun and five RBI's to start the season.
- Taylor Hopkins had two home runs along with one double as part of five total hits and seven RBI's in the series.
- Justin Meis (4.50 ERA) threw 10 strikeouts and allowed one double and three homeruns in six innings.
- Luke McGuire (4.50 ERA) allowed four runs, five hits and one walk with four strikeouts in his start.
YEAR 2
- Bell enters his second season leading the Panthers' program.
- Last year, Pitt posted 21 victories, including marquee victories over No. 11 North Carolina, No. 7 Georgia Tech and national powerhouse Florida State.
- Connor Perry (second team) and Popa earned ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors. Derek West joined Popa on the All-ACC Second Team, while Perry garnered a third team selection.
- Dan Hammer (13th round-Baltimore Orioles), West (14th round-Houston Astros) and Perry (28th round-Detroit Tigers) were selected in the MLB Draft, and Cole MacLaren (Detroit Tigers) joined them in the professional ranks as a free-agent signing.
UP NEXT
- Pitt heads back to Sanford for two games each with Lehigh and Central Connecticut State, beginning with a doubleheader Friday against both the Mountain Hawks (1 p.m.) and the Blue Devils (5:30 p.m.).
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