No. 11 Seed Pitt To Face No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 2 Louisville in ACC Tournament

PITTSBURGH – No. 11 seed Pitt baseball faces No. 7 Georgia Tech Tuesday and No. 2 Louisville Wednesday both at 11 a.m. in Charlotte, N.C. at Truist Field for Pool B play in the ACC Tournament. The Panthers are playing in the league's postseason tournament for the second-straight year for the first time and third overall since joining for the 2014 season.

Joining us at the @ACCBaseball tournament this week?

Don't forget to grab your postseason button at tomorrow's game in the Queen City! ??#H2P pic.twitter.com/polObqS2Y0
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) May 23, 2022

HOW TO FOLLOW

The first two (pool play) games will be broadcasted on RSN or ACCNX.
If the game isn't available in a market that doesn't have a RSN or that RSN has elected not to show it, Tuesday and Wednesday's games can then be watched through ACCNX on the WatchESPN app/service.
Fans in the Pittsburgh market can only stream the game as AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh will not televise the games.
Please check local listings along with RSN listings for the Georgia Tech game and the Louisville contest.
The semifinals (1 and 5 p.m.) will be broadcasted Saturday on the ACC Network with the Championship Sunday at noon on ESPN2.
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

TUESDAY (Georgia Tech): RHP Matt Gilbertson (8-3, 3.06 ERA, 1.11 WHIP) | RHP John Medich (4-4, 5.72 ERA, 1.61 WHIP)
WEDNESDAY (Louisville): TBA | TBA

RPI TALK

With the Panthers' improved play and strong wins in April, they find themselves in the upper portion of the RPI rankings.
Pitt currently stands at No. 72 (.5427) with a strength of schedule at 30 (.5538).
With its strong slate of opponents, Pitt is 10-16 against quadrant one teams (squads ranked 1-50) and 1-0 against quadrant two teams (squads ranked 50-100).
- Two wins against No. 9 Louisville, No. 15 Virginia and No. 30 Clemson.
- One win versus No. 4 Virginia Tech, No. 8 Miami, No. 17 Notre Dame, No. 35 West Virginia and No. 60 Campbell.
The ACC is the second-highest rated league in the country.

ACC TOURNAMENT

The ACC tournament format features four pools (A, B, C and D) with three teams each as the winners of each one advance to the semifinals Saturday with championship Sunday.
Due to the league's tiebreaker of the higher seed advancing, Pitt must win both of its games in Pool B to advance in the tournament.
Three games (11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.) are played Tuesday-Friday, so the Panthers would have a two-day break if they win.
Its potential semifinal would come against the Pool C winner (No. 3 Miami, No. 6 Wake Forest or No. 10 NC State) Saturday at 5 p.m. in the second game of the day with the championship the next day.

ALL-ACC HONORS

Pitt starting pitchers Matt Gilbertson (second-team) and Billy Corcoran (third-team) were named All-ACC selections, the league announced Monday.
They are the first tandem of Panther pitchers to earn All-ACC (first-third team) honors in the same season and the eighth and ninth overall selections under head coach Mike Bell to earn the distinction in his three full seasons guiding the program (no season awards given in 2020 due to COVID).
The honors were the first for both in their Panthers' careers.

HOME RUN HITTING SQUAD

The story of the Pitt offense so far this season has been its home run hitting ability.
With 73 in 53 games, the Panthers rank in the nation 48th in homers per game (1.38) and 49th in homers.
Additionally, Pitt is 58th in on-base percentage (.392) and 83rd in slugging percentage (.461).
Tatem Levins has been the leader of that power-hitting squad, blasting 15 to place 90th in the nation.
All nine of the batters in the current starting lineup have hit at least two with Levins hitting 15, Washington, Jr. blasting 13, Brock Franks registering nine, Bryce Hulett hitting eight and Jack Anderson with six.
CJ Funk hit his first collegiate homer at Virginia Tech (Saturday, March 19) and has hit four in his last 21 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 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. 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 second on the team in extra-base hits (23), RBI (37), slugging percentage (.574) and total bases (93) along with four stolen bases.
In 152 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 (360), tied for third in homers (33), tied for fifth in doubles (47), sixth in at-bats (743), seventh in RBI (139), tied for seventh in games started (192), tied for ninth in games played (197), tied for 11th in walks (87) and 12th in hits (210).

BREAKOUT SEASON FOR HULETT

Bryce Hulett has enjoyed a tremendous season as one of the Panthers' top hitters.
Known for his tremendous glove at first base since he started his career in Pittsburgh in 2020, Hulett excelled at the plate this spring.
He recorded a .274 batting average and .400 on-base percentage along with .853 OPS, .453 slugging percentage and 52 hits, 17 for extra-base.
His power has seen an uptick with eight homers, eight doubles and a triple in 190 at-bats (eight, three and zero in 154 last season), and he's drawn more walks and cut down drastically on strikeouts (averaging one per 4.75 at-bats, compared to last year's 55 in 157, average of one every 2.85 at-bats).

SLUGGING TATEM

For the season, Tatem Levins has been an effective power hitter, ranking 90th in the nation with 15 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 52 RBI, 1.041 OPS and 26 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.
In program history, Levins ranks for a single-season tied for eighth in home runs and tied for 13th in hit by pitches.
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.

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 saw a 65-game reached base streak that started last year end last Saturday against Georgia Tech.
This season he is second on the team in walks (39), currently ranking 34th in the nation in walks per game (.87), along with a .433 on-base percentage, 47 hits and 20 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 122.
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 (38) and 18th in hits (169).

GILL ON THE HILL

Matt Gilbertson was the Panthers' "Saturday" pitcher all last season and is the No. 1 pitcher this year.
Gilbertson has posted a team-best 3.55 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 8-3 record, 87 strikeouts to 11 walks and a .261 opposing batting average.
This season he ranks in the ACC first in innings pitched (91.1) and strikeouts looking (37), tied for first in games started (14), third in least walks allowed (11), tied for fourth in wins (8) and sixth in strikeouts (87).
In the nation, he's ninth in walks allowed per nine innings (1.08), 13th in games started and strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.82), 24th in victories and 76th in strikeouts (86).
Gilbertson ranks in program history tied for ninth in career wins (16), 14th in strikeouts (179) and 15th in games started (31) and innings pitched (200.1).
This year, he ranks in single-season program history tied for seventh in wins, tied for eighth in games started, tied for 10th in strikeouts and tied for 11th in innings pitched.
In his 10 ACC starts, Gilbertson has 56 strikeouts to just five walks in 75.2 innings pitched.
Starting against No. 20 Clemson (March 25), Gilbertson recorded 47.1 consecutive innings without a walk that ended against Duke (May 7).
He's recorded seven wins in his last ten appearances with the one a no decision on eight innings and just one run at then-No. 4 Miami on April 22.
The appearance was the eighth quality start of the season, and he's gone at least seven innings in seven of his last nine games.
He earned his first win this season with no earned runs allowed and four strikeouts in five innings pitched against Bradley (Feb. 25).
He recorded his first ACC victory at Virginia Tech (March 18), going six innings with two runs, six hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
He notched another ACC win against No. 20 Clemson with seven shutout innings with just five hits and no walks allowed with nine strikeouts.
He made it three-straight starts with a win by going seven innings again versus No. 5 Louisville with two runs, eight hits and no walks with five strikeouts.
It became four-straight starts with a victory and three-straight with seven innings pitched at Boston College with three runs, 10 hits, no walks and four strikeouts.
The win-streak became five against No. 5 Virginia when he went eight innings with eight strikeouts, no walks and four runs.
He threw an eight-inning complete game, two-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts and no walks in the win against North Carolina A&T.
In an ACC victory over Duke, he went seven innings with six strikeouts to just one walk and two runs.
In 31 career starts at Pitt, Gilbertson has accumulated 179 strikeouts to just 37 walks and gone at least five innings in all but two games.

COMEBACK SEASON FOR CORCORAN

Limited to just four appearances in 2021, Billy Corcoran has bounced back tremendously this spring.
This season he ranks in the ACC first in least walks allowed (8), Sixth in innings pitched (80.2) and tied for sixth in wins (7).
In the nation, he's fourth in walks allowed per nine innings (.89), 10th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.25) and 67th in victories.
Corcoran was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on April 25, earning the honors with a win at No. 4 Miami on April 24 in which he had eight strikeouts, one walk and one run in seven innings.
He has gone at least six innings in 11 out of 12 appearances this season and allowed just four walks in his last nine starts with a combined 53 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched.
He notched wins in four-straight starts (then-No. 5 Louisville, at Boston College, then-No. 5 Virginia and at then-No. 5 Miami).
In that span, he recorded a 1.55 ERA, 26 strikeouts and just two walks in 29.0 innings pitched.
In program history, he ranks 14th in games started (32), 18th in innings pitched (184.1) and 19th in strikeouts (157).

ALL-TIME SERIES

Georgia Tech has the edge 13-11, and Louisville has the edge 22-10.
The Yellow Jackets swept the Panthers in this year's series.
Pitt took this year's series against then-ranked No. 5 Louisville 2-1 with an 8-7 win in the opener and a 6-3 win in the closer.
The Panthers' latest and only postseason meeting against Georgia Tech occurred at the ACC Tournament on May 22, 2018, in which Pitt won 2-1.
Pitt is looking to secure its first postseason victory against Louisville.

#H2P | Twitter | Instagram

No. 11 Seed Pitt To Face No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 2 Louisville in ACC Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jack Anderson

Billy Corcoran

Sky Duff

Brock Franks

C.J. Funk

Matt Gilbertson

Bryce Hulett

Tatem Levins

Tommy Tavarez

Ron Washington, Jr.

David Yanni

No. 11 Seed Pitt To Face No. 7 Georgia Tech and No. 2 Louisville in ACC Tournament

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jack Anderson

Billy Corcoran

Sky Duff

Brock Franks

C.J. Funk

Matt Gilbertson

Bryce Hulett

Tatem Levins

Tommy Tavarez

Ron Washington, Jr.

David Yanni

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