Pitt
9-4, 0
Georgia Tech
9-5, 0
Pitt Earn Series Win with 18-12 Victory at No. 7 Georgia Tech
3/14/2021 8:56:00 PM | Baseball
Through three ACC weekends of play, Pitt is off to its best start at 6-3 since joining the league in the 2014 season. For the time in league play, they have won two series against ranked teams.
The highest ranked team in the conference heading into the weekend, Georgia Tech had a 12-straight ACC series and home-series winning streaks that dated back to March 2019 snapped by Pitt.
The Panthers got on the board first with a four-run second inning. David Yanni drew a leadoff walk, and Samuel Frontino reached on a throwing error by the third baseman. Bryce Hulett knocked both of them in with a homer to right field, his first of the season. Riley Wash then hit a single through the left side, advanced to second base on a sac bunt by Brock Franks and scored on a double down the left field line by Nico Popa.
.@bryce_hulett first homer of the year was a ????
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) March 14, 2021
??: https://t.co/RtWFEtl19R#H2P pic.twitter.com/7V68rCpJdu
Pitt followed it up with seven runs in the next inning. Ron Washington, Jr. led off with a single through the left side. With two outs, Hulett reached on a throwing error by the pitcher. Wash singled up the middle for the first run. After a balk moved up both the runners into scoring position, Franks knocked in both of them with a single up the middle. After Sky Duff got an infield single, another throwing error by the shortstop to second base allowed Franks to reach home. Kyle Hess hit a two-run double to right field, and Washington, Jr. capped off the frame with his second hit, an RBI-single through the left side.
After Georgia Tech produced its first two runs in the third inning, Pitt pushed its lead back to 11 in the next frame. Frontino led off with a triple to right field. After Wash walked, Frontino came home safely on an RBI-groundout by Franks to first base. Duff then singled to centerfield to knock in Wash.
The Yellow Jackets were able to cut the deficit down to five runs off of three runs each in the fifth and sixth innings, but once again the Panthers were able to respond with runs of their own. After Hess drew a one-out walk, Washington, Jr. hit a 410-foot homer to dead center, his first of the year. Yanni made it back-to-back homers with his solo shot to right field for his team-leading fifth of the season.
.@RWashingtonJr1 smashes this one into dead center ??!
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) March 14, 2021
4??1??0?? feet & 1??0??6?? MPH off the bat ??.
??: https://t.co/RtWFEtl19R#H2P pic.twitter.com/damN8omD51
The same sequence happened yet again for the two teams. The Yellow Jackets hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning. In the top of the eighth inning, Franks led off with a single to left center and stole second base. Duff then hit his first homer of the season to right field to push the Panthers' lead back to six.Might start a petition to rename this park after @dyanni2 ??. This is his 6??th homer in the last six games here in Atlanta!
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) March 14, 2021
??: https://t.co/RtWFEtl19R#H2P pic.twitter.com/eP58NwrlIz
T8 | Pitt 18, No. 7 GT 12
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) March 14, 2021
Insert ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!.GIF@Sky_Duff3 pushes our lead back to 6?? with a two-run homer! We feel sorry for the person collecting those balls in the ?? after the game, kind of.
??: https://t.co/RtWFEtl19R#H2P https://t.co/Gj1K0vkZB1 pic.twitter.com/jYG2SUyluz
The Panthers wrap up 16-straight games away from home with a weekend series at RV Virginia that begins Friday at 4 p.m.
NOTES
- The 18 runs and 17 RBI's were the most against an ACC opponent and the most since scoring 26 off 26 RBI against Maryland Eastern Shore on May 1, 2019.
- Pitt matched Friday's season-high of 19 hits.
- Eight of the 19 hits were for extra-bases, including a season-high four homers.
- The four home runs were the most in any ACC game.
- Stephen Hansen (1-0) picked up his first win as a Panther in the start and allowed five runs, eight hits and three walks with a strikeout in five innings.
- Jordan McCrum came in the ninth and retired the side including a strikeout to finish the game.
- Chase Smith produced the previous five outs with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.
- The Panthers have won every series-finale this season, taking the rubber match 10-1 in the opening weekend against Indiana State in Port Charlotte, Fla., defeating then-No. 9 Florida State 9-7 in 13 innings two weekends ago and rallying for a 5-4 win at Duke last Sunday.
- Four Panthers had three each: Duff, Washington, Jr., Hulett and Franks.
- As the leadoff hitter, Duff notched a game-high four hits.
- Washington, Jr. went 3-5 with two runs.
- Wash had a game-high three runs and was 2-5 with an RBI and walk.
- Hulett had a team-high two walks and finished 2-4 with two runs.
- Yanni has six homers in the last two series at Georgia Tech.
- Franks stole his first base as a Panther.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hansen, Stephen (1-0)
L: Sam Crawford (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Duff, Sky 1 ; Popa, Nico 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1
3B: Frontino, Samuel 1
HR: Duff, Sky 1 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 1 ; Yanni, David 1 ; Hulett, Bryce 1
RBI: Duff, Sky 3 ; Popa, Nico 1 ; Hess, Kyle 2 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 3 ; Yanni, David 1 ; Hulett, Bryce 3 ; Wash, Riley 1 ; Franks, Brock 3
SH: Franks, Brock 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duff, Sky 2 ; Popa, Nico 1 ; Hess, Kyle 2 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 2 ; Yanni, David 2 ; Frontino, Samuel 2 ; Hulett, Bryce 2 ; Wash, Riley 3 ; Franks, Brock 2
SB: Franks, Brock 1
Batting:
2B: Luke Waddell 1 ; Justyn-Henry Malloy 1 ; Kevin Parada 1
HR: Luke Waddell 1
RBI: Luke Waddell 4 ; Justyn-Henry Malloy 1 ; Kevin Parada 2 ; Drew Compton 3 ; Jake Holland 1 ; Colin Hall 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Luke Waddell 3 ; Justyn-Henry Malloy 1 ; Kevin Parada 2 ; Drew Compton 1 ; Jake DeLeo 1 ; Tres Gonzalez 2 ; Andrew Jenkins 1 ; Austin Wilhite 1
HBP: Kevin Parada 1 ; Andrew Jenkins 1
