Pitt
Harvard
Panthers Take On Harvard in Four-Game Series This Weekend in Florida
2/23/2023 12:13:00 PM | Baseball
TOP OF THE ORDER
1. PANTHERS READY FOR FOUR-GAME SET AGAINST HARVARD IN FLORIDA
The Pitt baseball team (1-2, 0-0 ACC) continues its tour of Florida with a visit to Port Charlotte to take on Harvard in a four-game series this weekend at Centennial Park.
The weekend set opens Friday (Feb. 24) with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Saturday (Feb. 25) will be a doubleheader day set for an 11:30 a.m. start. The Sunday (Feb. 26) series finale is slated for a 12:30 p.m. first pitch. FloBaseball will provide streaming coverage of the series.
Pitt vs. Harvard | Friday, Feb. 24 | 1 p.m. | Centennial Park | Port Charlotte, Fla.
FloBaseball | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt Jr. RHP #17 Kyle Mosley (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Harvard Jr. RHP #23 Jay Driver (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Pitt vs. Harvard | Saturday, Feb. 25 | 11:30 a.m. | Centennial Park | Port Charlotte, Fla.
FloBaseball | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt So. LHP #15 Ethan Firoved (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. Harvard Jr. RHP #34 Chris Clark (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Pitt vs. Harvard | Saturday, Feb. 25 | 2:30 p.m. | Centennial Park | Port Charlotte, Fla.
FloBaseball | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt Jr. RHP #43 Jack Sokol (0-0, 54.00 ERA) vs. Harvard So. RHP #28 Sean Matson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Pitt vs. Harvard | Sunday, Feb. 26 | 12:30 p.m. | Centennial Park | Port Charlotte, Fla..
FloBaseball | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt Gr. RHP #32 Erubiel Candelario (0-0, 8.31 ERA) vs. Harvard Sr. RHP #11 Will Jacobsen (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
2. SUNSHINE STATE START
Pitt is spending its first four weekends of the 2023 campaign in the state of Florida.
The Panthers have opened up the season in the Sunshine State nine years in a row.
Pitt is set to play 15 of its first 16 games in Florida to start this season.
3. PITT TAKES ON THE IVY LEAGUE
Pitt will meet Harvard on the diamond for the first time this weekend.
The Panthers are 5-5 all-time against schools out of the Ivy League, including 3-0 against Princeton, 1-0 against Penn and 1-5 against Cornell.
PITT OPENS 2023 AGAINST MAINE
Pitt opened its 2023 campaign with a three-game set against Maine last weekend in Sarasota. The Panthers edged the Black Bears, 11-10, on Opening Day before dropping the final two games of the series by scores of 11-7 and 8-5.
BATS PRODUCE ON OPENING WEEKEND
Pitt has started the season hitting .311 as a team with 23 runs scored and 32 hits - including 13 for extra bases.
Six Panthers are hitting .300 or better on the season so far. Jack Anderson leads the way at a .500 clip, going 6-for-12 with two doubles last weekend. Sky Duff, Tommy Tavarez and Anthony LaSala are all hitting .417 while AJ Nessler (.333) and Dom Popa (.300) round out the .300 or better club.
MAKING THEIR DEBUTS
The Panthers saw 15 players make their Pitt debuts in last weekend's series against Maine.
A pair of freshmen found their way into the starting lineup in Anthony LaSala (second base) and AJ Nessler (left field) for all three games. LaSala came up big at the plate in his first career start in the 11-10 Opening Day win over the Black Bears, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored to help key the victory for Pitt. Nessler finished the weekend with a team-high six RBI and smacked his first collegiate home run in Saturday's 11-7 loss to Maine.
Noah Martinez, a transfer from Central Connecticut State, started all three games at first base. He went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBI in the season opener, then crushed his first home run as a Panther in Sunday's 8-5 loss.
Sophomore catcher Jayden Melendez, a transfer from Florida International, made his first start at Pitt behind the dish on Saturday. Freshman Carlos Martinez and graduate student Brett Heckert, a transfer from Allegheny College, both saw action as pinch hitters.
Nine new faces took to the mound on the season's opening weekend.
A trio of transfers - Kyle Mosley (Hill College), Ethan Firoved (Tallahassee Community College) and Erubiel Candelario (Marist College) - made up the starting rotation. Mosley and Candelario both struck out five in their Pitt debuts.
Out of the bullpen, six transfers saw action against Maine, including Holden Phelps (Missouri), Zack Oswald (Harford Community College), Matthew Fernandez (Miami Dade Community College), Nash Bryan (Seton Hill), Dylan Simmons (Florida State) and Jack Sokol (Pensacola State). Phelps worked 3.1 innings of relief in Saturday's loss, striking out three. His 0.60 WHIP is tops on the team while his 2.70 ERA ranks second.
BAUTISTA, DEVEREUX DELIVER OUT OF 'PEN IN WIN
A pair of veteran arms on the Pitt pitching staff helped the Panthers secure victory in the season opener. Jonathan Bautista worked three scoreless frames, striking out one. Brady Devereux then got the call to lock down the victory in the top of the ninth inning with one out and the bases loaded. After getting the second out at second on a fielder's choice, Pitt won the game on a Devereux strikeout. The redshirt junior righty earned his first career save with the effort.
SCOUTING HARVARD
Harvard is in its 11th season under the direction of head coach Bill Decker in 2023.
In 2022, the Crimson returned to competition following a pause due to COVID-19, winning 19 games, including 10 Ivy wins, and finishing in fourth place in the Ivy League standings. Harvard recorded a pair of wins over Power Five opponents during its non-conference season, topping Miami – 11-6 in the season opener – and UCLA – in a 5-0 shutout victory. The Crimson pitching staff ranked 29th in the NCAA in strikeouts per game (9.8) while Harvard's batters ranked 51st in the nation in doubles per game (2.1). Harvard totaled five All-Ivy selections and three CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees.
Harvard returns its top three hitters in infielder Logan Bravo, infielder Will Jacobsen and infielder/outfielder Chris Snopek. Bravo led the Crimson in batting average (.355), slugging percentage (.618), on base percentage (.423), hits (54), doubles (16), home runs (8), RBI (44) and total bases (94). Jacobsen ranked second on the squad with a .323 batting average and third with 48 hits while Snopek ranked third with a .323 batting average and second with 50 hits. Infielder Jake Berger ranked second in home runs (7) and RBI (29) while ranking fourth third in doubles (10) and fourth in hits (43).
All four projected starting pitchers for Harvard were with the Crimson last year. Right-hander Jay Driver made 15 appearances out the bullpen, logging a team-high four saves and sporting a 1.91 ERA and 45 strikeouts against 13 walks over 28.1 innings of work. Righty Chris Clark appeared in 14 games with four starts, going 2-3 with a pair of saves and striking out 47 in 38 frames. Right-hander Sean Matson went 3-3 with a 5.31 ERA and 49 strikeouts against 17 walks over 13 appearances, six starts and 42.1 innings. Jacobsen, a two-way player who is a right-hander on the mound, went 2-2 with a 5.28 ERA in 12 appearances and three starts.
UP NEXT
Pitt plays the first of 22 home games at Charles Cost Field as it welcomes Bucknell to the Steel City next Tuesday (Feb. 28). First pitch of the home opener is set for 3 p.m.
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