No. 17 Pitt Host No. 12 Notre Dame and Backyard Brawl

PITTSBURGH – No. 17 Pitt baseball (12-8, 8-7 ACC) faces a pair of old-time foes, No. 12 Notre Dame (11-4, 10-4) and West Virginia (11-9, 3-1 Big 12), in a four-game homestand Saturday-Tuesday. The Panthers square off against the Irish in a three-game series Saturday at 1 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 1 p.m. and then the Mountaineers Tuesday at 3 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

All four games are available to be streamed on WatchESPN/ACCNX.
Fans can also follow along with live stats updates through Twitter. Follow @Pitt_BASE for the latest news and updates about the team.

STARTING PITCHERS

Saturday: RHP Mitch Myers (2-3, 2.63 ERA, 1.22 WHIP)| LHP Will Mercer (1-0, 6.59 ERA, 1.39 WHIP)
Sunday: RHP Matt Gilbertson (3-3, 3.82 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) | LHP John Michael Bertrand (3-0, 3.21 ERA, 1.01 WHIP)
Monday: TBA | TBA
Tuesday: TBA | TBA

TOP-25 RANKINGS

Currently Pitt is ranked as high as 17th by Baseball America and also 24th by DIBaseball.com, 26th by the NCBWA and receiving votes in the other two major polls, USA Today Coaches and Collegiate Baseball.
Pitt recorded its highest-ever ranking in program history last week, garnering the No. 14 slot in the Baseball America Poll released Monday.
The Panthers were ranked in the top-20 all five major polls: DIBaseball.com (No. 15), Collegiate Baseball (No. 18), USA TODAY Sports Coaches' Poll (No. 18) and National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (No. 20).
Two weeks ago Pitt debuted in the top-25 nationally for the first time since May 13, 2013 with selections in the polls by DIBaseball.com (No. 18) and Baseball America (No. 19). The rankings are the first since joining the ACC for the 2014 season.
The last team to be ranked at all, the 2013 Panthers' squad was ranked as high as 16th by Collegiate Baseball on May 13, 2013.
With the series win over the Cavaliers, the Panthers wrapped up a 16-game streak away from home with four ACC weekend series to start the season with an 11-5 overall record and 8-4 league mark that tied North Carolina and Georgia Tech atop the Coastal Division. Pitt recorded its best start 12 games into league action.

TOP RPI MATCHUP

The Notre Dame series features a pair of top-20 RPI ranked teams, as Notre Dame (11^th) and Pitt (16^th) are the highest-ranked teams in the conference by the RPI.
The NCAA released its first RPI rankings of the season last Thursday, and the Panthers were slotted second (.6487) behind just Arkansas.
Pitt has the 25th-toughest strength of schedule so far this season and own five wins against quadrant one teams (including a series win over the No. 5 team, Indiana State).
All but two games have come against quadrant one and two teams.
The ACC also ranks second in the conference RPI rankings as all 14 teams are in the top-100 with eight in the top-50.

LAST TIME OUT-NO. 22 VIRGINIA TECH

Pitt lost all three games against then-No. 22 Virginia Tech in its first home series of the season.
The Panthers fell 5-1 in the opener and 8-4 in the next two games.
Both 8-4 losses have late Panthers' rallies that the Hokies were able to stifle.
In Saturday's game, the Panthers scored three runs in the ninth, had two runners in scoring position in the ninth inning with no outs and then struck out in the next three at-bats.
Sunday, Pitt tied it up with three runs in the seventh inning, but Virginia Tech scored two runs each in the next two innings.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT-NO. 12 NOTRE DAME

The Irish are ranked as high as 12^th in the Baseball America Poll.
With just one nonconference game played so far (6-3 win over Valparaiso), Notre Dame is the only ACC team to not drop a weekend series with series wins at No. 16 Wake Forest, Clemson and No. 21 Virginia (a sweep), a home series win against Duke and a split at No. 6 Louisville.
The Irish currently rank No. 1 in the nation in fielding percentage (0.991). The Irish have only committed five errors in 15 games this season and have had two series where they have not committed any errors over the entire weekend.
Senior infielder Niko Kavadas leads the league in slugging percentage (.923) and homers (10) with 25 RBIs and 13 walks.
Senior outfielder Ryan Cole ranks second in the conference in on-base percentage (.529) and fourth in slugging percentage (.720) with three homers and seven walks to just four strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT-WEST VIRGINIA

Ranked in the top-25 in the first two weeks of the season, The Mountaineers own an 11-9 record with three wins in for Big 12 games.
West Virginia opened its series Thursday night at No. 16 Oklahoma State with a 4-3 win.
Entering the series, freshman infielder Mikey Kluska leads the club with a .342 average and 25 hits.
Fifth-year senior infielder Kevin Brophy and sophomore catcher/infielder Matt McCormick co-lead the team with four home runs, while Davis and sophomore outfielder Victor Scott each have stolen eight bases. Additionally, Scott has tallied a team-best 15 RBI.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Notre Dame leads the series 43-27 with a history that dates back to when the schools faced off in the BIG EAST.
The Panthers have a 16-15 edge in games held in Pittsburgh.
The most played opponent in program history, West Virginia leads 85-73 with a six-game winning streak.
Pitt has the edge in confirmed games in Pittsburgh 19-18.

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