No. 17 Pitt Hosts North Carolina for Weekend Series

PITTSBURGH – No. 17 Pitt baseball (18-10, 12-9) faces North Carolina (17-13, 11-10) in a home ACC weekend series. Friday's game has been moved from 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. due to inclement weather. Saturday (3 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) are still slated for their original times.

HOW TO FOLLOW

All three 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

FRIDAY: RHP Mitch Myers (2-4, 3.16 ERA, 1.19 WHIP)| RHP Connor Ollio (0-0, 2.57 ERA, .93 WHIP)
SATURDAY: RHP Matt Gilbertson (4-3, 3.66 ERA, 1.20 WHIP)| RHP Austin Love (4-2, 4.59 ERA, 1.14 WHIP)
SUNDAY: TBA | TBA

TOP-25 RANKINGS

Currently Pitt is ranked as high as 17th by Baseball America and also 19th by DIBaseball.com and NCBWA, 20th by USA Today Coaches and 21st by Collegiate Baseball.
The Panthers have the second-most wins (nine) against top-25 teams in the Baseball America Poll.
Pitt recorded its highest-ever ranking in program history on March 22, garnering the No. 14 slot in the Baseball America Poll.
The Panthers were ranked in the top-20 all five major polls on that date: DIBaseball.com (No. 15), Collegiate Baseball (No. 18), USA TODAY Sports Coaches' Poll (No. 18) and National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (No. 20).
The previous week 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 series features a pair of top-40 RPI ranked teams, as Pitt (20^th) and North Carolina (40th) are the two of the highest-ranked teams in the conference by the RPI.
Pitt has the 14th-toughest strength of schedule so far this season and own seven wins against quadrant one teams (two against No. 18 Indiana State, one against No. 17 Notre Dame and a sweep of No. 22 Miami).
All but three games have come against quadrant one and two teams.
The ACC also ranks third in the conference RPI rankings as all 14 teams are in the top-100 with 11 in the top-60.
The NCAA released its first RPI rankings of the season Feb. 25, and the Panthers were slotted second (.6487) behind just Arkansas.

LAST TIME OUT-WIN OVER LIPSCOMB

Pitt improved to 6-1 in nonconference games (3-0 at home) with a 9-6 win over Lipscomb Tuesday.
The Panthers scored four runs in the first inning and never trailed.
Kyle Hess led the way at the plate, finishing a home run shy of the cycle and recording a game-high four RBIs.
C.J. McKennitt (1-0) picked up his first win as a Panther as the most effective relief pitcher: 2.2 innings with no runs and hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT-NORTH CAROLINA

Sitting in fourth place in the ACC Coastal Division standings, the Tar Heels won the last two games for a home series win against rival Duke.
North Carolina is just 4-7 on the road against tough competition with a series loss to Virginia Tech and Florida State, midweek defeat to Liberty and East Carolina and series win at Boston College.
Sophomore outfielder Caleb Roberts has been the squad's best hitter with team-highs in slugging percentage (.585), on-base percentage (.457), homers (seven) and walks (19).
Sophomore outfielder Justice Thompson is not far behind with a .925 OPS and five homers and is also the biggest threat on the bases with 13 steals in 14 attempts.

ALL-TIME SERIES

North Carolina has the slight edge (11-8) in the all-time series with all 19 meetings coming as league foes.
Pitt has the advantage in games at Charles L. Cost Field (5-4) with series wins in 2015 and 2019 with both times the Tar Heels were ranked No. 11.

UP NEXT

Pitt goes on the road for the first time in over a month with No. 2 Louisville starting Friday at 3 p.m. with an ACC Network broadcast.

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No. 17 Pitt Hosts North Carolina for Weekend Series

Players Mentioned

Matt Gilbertson

Kyle Hess

C.J. McKennitt

Mitch Myers

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