Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics
Pitt Seniors Gomez, Popa and Yanni to Return for 2021 Season
8/12/2020 11:59:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Pitt baseball seniors Chris Gomez, Nico Popa and David Yanni will continue their collegiate athletic career and return for the 2021 season, head coach Mike Bell announced Wednesday.
"We are extremely excited to have all three back to allow these student-athletes the opportunity to close out their academic and athletic careers here at the University of Pittsburgh," said Bell. "It's another example of the true commitment to excellence that we provide to our student-athletes here at Pitt. We're very thankful for the leadership and commitment within our athletic administration that continues to allow our student-athletes to fulfill and pursue their lifelong dreams and goals."
The 2020 baseball season – along with all winter and spring sports across the nation – was cut short due to the COVID-19 virus. The NCAA, along with the ACC and University of Pittsburgh has granted spring sport athletes who were affected by the virus to obtain one more year of eligibility.
The Pittsburgh native Popa has started the last four years in right field. Owning a career .415 slugging percentage and .361 on-base percentage with 45 extra-base hits and 74 RBI's, he had a breakout junior season in 2019. Popa became the second player in the ACC era of Pitt history to earn ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team honors in addition to his Second-Team All-ACC selection after leading the team with a .353 average and .581 slugging percentage and recording 15 doubles, five triples, eight homers and 39 RBI's.
Yanni returns to Pittsburgh for his sixth season after medically redshirting in 2017 and has started every year at shortstop. With a career .400 slugging percentage and .366 on-base percentage, he has tallied 38 doubles, 16 homers, 116 walks and 114 RBI's. He was off to a strong start in in 2020, batting .300 with seven extra-base hits, 14 RBI's and 11 walks.
Gomez has been one of the top arms to come out of the bullpen in each of the four years in Pittsburgh. He has made 59 career appearances with eight starts and collected a 5-5 record, 5.09 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 116.2 innings pitched. In 2019, he turned in the fifth-best ERA (5.15) on the team with 34 strikeouts.
Popa (Marketing) and Yanni (Finance) both graduated this spring and are pursuing a Certificate in Managing Health Services Programs and Projects. Gomez intends to earn a Certificate in Sports Studies.
The Panthers have all eight position starters and their entire weekend rotation set to return for next year. Pitt finished the 2020 season with a 10-6 record.
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"We are extremely excited to have all three back to allow these student-athletes the opportunity to close out their academic and athletic careers here at the University of Pittsburgh," said Bell. "It's another example of the true commitment to excellence that we provide to our student-athletes here at Pitt. We're very thankful for the leadership and commitment within our athletic administration that continues to allow our student-athletes to fulfill and pursue their lifelong dreams and goals."
The 2020 baseball season – along with all winter and spring sports across the nation – was cut short due to the COVID-19 virus. The NCAA, along with the ACC and University of Pittsburgh has granted spring sport athletes who were affected by the virus to obtain one more year of eligibility.
The Pittsburgh native Popa has started the last four years in right field. Owning a career .415 slugging percentage and .361 on-base percentage with 45 extra-base hits and 74 RBI's, he had a breakout junior season in 2019. Popa became the second player in the ACC era of Pitt history to earn ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team honors in addition to his Second-Team All-ACC selection after leading the team with a .353 average and .581 slugging percentage and recording 15 doubles, five triples, eight homers and 39 RBI's.
Yanni returns to Pittsburgh for his sixth season after medically redshirting in 2017 and has started every year at shortstop. With a career .400 slugging percentage and .366 on-base percentage, he has tallied 38 doubles, 16 homers, 116 walks and 114 RBI's. He was off to a strong start in in 2020, batting .300 with seven extra-base hits, 14 RBI's and 11 walks.
Gomez has been one of the top arms to come out of the bullpen in each of the four years in Pittsburgh. He has made 59 career appearances with eight starts and collected a 5-5 record, 5.09 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 116.2 innings pitched. In 2019, he turned in the fifth-best ERA (5.15) on the team with 34 strikeouts.
Popa (Marketing) and Yanni (Finance) both graduated this spring and are pursuing a Certificate in Managing Health Services Programs and Projects. Gomez intends to earn a Certificate in Sports Studies.
The Panthers have all eight position starters and their entire weekend rotation set to return for next year. Pitt finished the 2020 season with a 10-6 record.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
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