Pitt To Play Second Game at PNC Park Against Penn State

PITTSBURGH – Pitt baseball heads to PNC Park for the second and final time of the season for a Tuesday matchup against in-state rival Penn State at 6 p.m.

GAME PROMOTIONS

Blue and gold pom-poms will be given out.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The game will be streamed on ACCNX.
Fans can follow along with live stats and updates through Twitter. Follow @Pitt_BASE for the latest news and updates about the team.

STARTING PITCHERS

TBA | TBA

RPI TALK

With the Panthers' improved play and strong wins in April, they find themselves in the top portion of the RPI rankings.
Pitt currently stands at No. 55 (.5537) with a strength of schedule at 36 (.5506).
With its strong slate of opponents, Pitt is 10-13 against quadrant one teams (squads ranked 1-50) and 1-0 against quadrant two teams (squads ranked 50-100).
- Two wins against No. 11 Louisville, No. 15 Virginia and No. 22 Clemson.
- One win versus No. 5 Virginia Tech, No. 8 Miami, No. 14 Notre Dame, No. 41 West Virginia and No. 58 Campbell.
The ACC is the second-highest rated league in the country.
Pitt has one three-game weekend series left against a quad one squad (No. 26 Georgia Tech) to solidify its RPI and postseason aspirations.

ACC TOURNAMENT

With one league weekend series remaining in the regular season, the Panthers have already clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament (May 24-29, Truist Field in Charlotte) for a second-straight season for the first time.
Pitt (13-13) is eighth in the ACC overall standings.
The standings remain tight as Pitt can move ahead as high as No. 5 in the league or fall as far as No. 11 after this weekend's series against Georgia Tech (12-15).
A series victory with two wins would ensure the Panthers wouldn't be seeded below their current spot of eighth in the standings.
The last weekend's matchups with the team's current place in the standings:
- No. 13 Duke (10-17) at No. 2 Virginia Tech (16-9)
- No. 14 Boston College (5-22) at No. 12 Clemson (10-16)
- No. 6 Florida State (15-12) at No. 11 North Carolina (12-15)
- No. 5 Virginia (16-11) at No. 4 Louisville (16-10-1)
- No. 9 Wake Forest (12-14-1) at No. 7 NC State (14-12)
- No. 3 Notre Dame (15-9) at No. 1 Miami (18-9)

HOME RUN HITTING SQUAD

The story of the Pitt offense so far this season has been its home run hitting ability.
With 69 in 49 games, the Panthers rank in the nation 42nd in homers per game (1.41) and 45th in homers.
Additionally, Pitt is 49rd in on-base percentage (.393) and 75th in slugging percentage (.463).
Tatem Levins has been the leader of that power-hitting squad, blasting 14 to place 76th in the nation.
Per game, Ron Washington, Jr. (.32) is 63rd and Levins (.29) is 97th.
All nine of the batters in the current starting lineup have hit at least two with Levins hitting 14, Washington, Jr. blasting 13, Brock Franks registering nine, Bryce Hulett hitting seven and Jack Anderson with six.
CJ Funk hit his first collegiate homer at Virginia Tech (Saturday, March 19) and has hit three in his last 17 games (two against No. 5 Louisville, April 2 and 3, and at Boston College, April 9).
Filling in the infield due to multiple injuries, freshman Tommy Tavarez has hit four in his last 16 starts (at Youngstown State, April 6, at Boston College, April 8, at Kent State, April 12 and against No. 5 Virginia, April 15).

BREAKOUT SEASON FOR WASHINGTON, JR.

Ron Washington, Jr. has saved his best season for last in his five-year career at Pitt.
Already an established bat in the ACC his entire career as an all-freshman selection in 2018, he has taken his game to another level this spring, especially the power numbers.
Despite missing eight games and limited to a pinch-hit appearance twice due to an injury, he is tied for first on the team in extra-base hits (22) and is second in RBI (35), slugging percentage (.604), total bases (90) and OPS (.989) along with four stolen bases.
In the nation he ranks 63rd in homers per game (.32).
In 149 at-bats, he has already established a season-best 13 homers (eight last year) and four steals (two in 2021 and 2018).
Entering this year, he posted a season-best of a .480 slugging percentage last year (not counting a .492 total in the shortened 2020 season).
He continues to etch his name in the record book, ranking in program history third in total bases (357), tied for third in homers (33), sixth in doubles (46), seventh in RBI (137), eighth in at-bats (730), ninth in games started (188), 11th in games played (193), tied for 12th in hits (208) and tied for 13th in walks (84).

SLUGGING TATEM

For the season, Tatem Levins has been an effective power hitter, ranking 76th in the nation with 14 homers that included a five-game home run streak (Lipscomb, Feb. 27-at High Point, March 9) and a pair of two-homer performances in the 9-4 win at No. 4 Miami (April 24) and the 21-5 win over Bucknell (March 15).
Overall this season, he has boasted a team-leading 47 RBI, 1.020 OPS and 22 extra-base hits.
In the five-game stretch with a homer he registered a .545 batting average (12-22), 12 hits, 12 RBI, 28 total bases, a 1.273 slugging percentage and .545 on-base percentage.
Levins was named ACC Player of the Week March 7 for in his performance at the All-American Classic.
Levins homered in all three games and posted nine RBI and a 1.231 slugging percentage.
He opened the tournament in Fayetteville, N.C. with a 2-4 performance at the plate with a solo homer and double against Army.
He had a two-run homer in the 6-5 comeback win over Ohio State.
In the 11-5 victory over Campbell, he saved his best performance for last with a grand slam and two other hits, six RBI and two runs.
He was also named one of Collegiate Baseball's Players of the Week.

THE DUFFMAN

Sky Duff had a breakout campaign in 2021, his third year in Pittsburgh, and earned spots on the All-ACC Third-Team and ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region Second Team.
Serving as the leadoff batter for most of this season, Duff has an active 63-game reached base streak started last year and currently ranks 32nd in the nation in walks per game (.88).
This season he is tied for first on the team in walks (36) and has a .444 on-base percentage, 44 hits and 18 RBI.
He recorded a nation-best nine walks and three hits also on opening weekend.
Known for his ability to draw walks in his entire career, he ranks third in program history with 119.
Former teammate David Yanni (148, 2016-21) and John Schultz (142, 2008-11) could be passed by Duff next season.
He also ranks in program history 15th in doubles (37) and 18th in hits (163).

SCOUTING PENN STATE

Stands in fifth place (11-10) in the Big Ten Conference and are 24-24 overall.
Ranked No. 133 in the RPI rankings.
Have won two of their last three weekend series (1-2 at Ohio State last weekend, 2-0 versus Omaha April 29-30 and 2-1 versus Michigan State May 8-9).
Blasted six home runs in a game for the first time since 2008 in a 13-7 win over Ohio State on Friday.
Junior catcher Matt Wood has been the top hitter, ranking in the nation 16th in batting average (.402), 28th in on base percentage (.495) and 43rd in slugging percentage (.692). He also leads the team in OPS (1.187), total bases (117) and home runs (10).
Eight different pitchers have recorded at least one save, sophomore Jaden Henline leading the team with three.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Penn State has the advantage 70-32-1.
The Panthers have not faced the Nittany Lions since 2019 due to the pandemic.
Pitt has the most recent win, defeating Penn State 7-2 on the road on April 10, 2019.
The Panthers have won four of their last five contests against the Nittany Lions.

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Pitt To Play Second Game at PNC Park Against Penn State

Players Mentioned

Jack Anderson

Sky Duff

Brock Franks

C.J. Funk

Bryce Hulett

Tatem Levins

Tommy Tavarez

Ron Washington, Jr.

David Yanni

Pitt To Play Second Game at PNC Park Against Penn State

Players Mentioned

Jack Anderson

Sky Duff

Brock Franks

C.J. Funk

Bryce Hulett

Tatem Levins

Tommy Tavarez

Ron Washington, Jr.

David Yanni

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