Baseball Squares off Against Lehigh and Central Connecticut State in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational

Friday, February 21

Sanford, Fla.

6 p.m.

Pitt

Eastern Michigan

Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

Baseball Squares off Against Lehigh and Central Connecticut State in RussMatt Central Florida Invitational

2/27/2020 5:50:00 PM | Baseball

Live Stats Game Notes

PITTSBURGH – Pitt baseball (6-1) returns to Sanford, Fla. for the second-straight weekend for the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational with two games each against Lehigh (1-5) and Central Connecticut State (2-1). The Panthers start the tournament Friday with a doubleheader, first against the Mountain Hawks at 1 p.m. and then the Blue Devils afterwards.

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.

LAST TIME OUT: EASTERN MICHIGAN

The Panthers swept the Eagles (3-2, 10-4 and 3-2) last weekend at the same site of this weekend's slate, Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium.
Starting pitchers Mitch Myers and Matt Gilbertson earned their first wins as Panthers. Myers allowed two, seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts, and Gilbertson didn't allow an earned run or walk for the second-straight game along with four strikeouts.
Billy Corcoran set a career-high in strikeouts for the second-straight contest, racking up nine in the series opener in six innings.
The Panthers scored first in all three games, never trailing in the series.
David Yanni led the way at the plate, collecting a team-high seven RBI's and 1.389 OPS. Yanni went 5-11 at the plate with three walks and four runs. He was 2-3 in the opener with a walk and stolen base. In the second game, he belted a two-run homer and a bases-clearing double. In the finale, he collected another stolen base, an RBI-walk and another hit.

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 seven baserunners attempting to steal. Starting four of six games played, Wash leads the team in OPS (1.239), batting average (.412) and slugging percentage (.765). Four of his seven hits have gone for extra-bases (three doubles and a homer).
Anderson has led off each game and recorded seven hits, including two doubles, and a team-high three stolen bases.
Hulett has gone 8-21 (.381) at the plate with a double and four RBI's, and Frontino has a team-high seven walks in addition to a triple and two doubles.
The Panthers' pitching staff has relied heavily on the newcomers. Mitch Myers and Matt Gilbertson have both made two starts. Myers has given up only two runs in each start with 12 strikeouts to just two walks. Gilbertson hasn't allowed an earned run or walk yet, and has tossed seven innings in each start.

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.
A third-team all-conference selection in 2018, Ron Washington Jr. 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.

ALL TIME SERIES

Pitt has won two of two meetings against Lehigh.
Both wins (9-0 and 10-4) were a part of a doubleheader on March 9, 2007.
This is the first-ever meeting against Central Connecticut State.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT-LEHIGH

Lehigh dropped its first five games of the season, getting swept at Davidson, before winning the series finale 8-5 at Richmond last Sunday.
Tyler Schreiner and Gerard Sweeney leads the team in batting average (.304), as both have gone 7-23 at the plate.
Adam Retzbach has hit a team-high two home runs for a .550 slugging percentage.
Matt Swanson (4.91 ERA), Mason Black (8.00 ERA) and Luke Rettig (8.00 ERA) have each started two games. Swanson recorded the only win, and Black (11) and Rettig (14) have both recorded double-digit strikeouts in nine innings pitched.
The Mountain Hawks were picked to finish last in sixth place in the Patriot League in the coaches' preseason poll, and infielder Tony Gallo was selected to the preseason team after leading the team in batting average (.321) and ranking second in hits (53), home runs (7) and RBIs (42).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT-CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE

Central Connecticut State won two of three games at Bethune-Cookman to open its season last weekend.
Anthony Mozzicato and Andrew Braun both started and didn't allow a run or walk to earn wins, and Braun registered seven strikeouts.
Scoring just six runs in the three games, Jake Siracusa and Chandler Debrosse were the only two Blue Devils with more than one hit with a pair each.
The team was picked to repeat as the NEC Champions in the coaches' preseason poll with its entire batting lineup returning from last year's team that went 31-23 and posted a 7-4 win over No. 24 Cal.

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.