Tuesday, February 28
Pittsburgh, PA
3 PM
Pitt
5-3
11
vs
8
Bucknell
2-5
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8
9
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H
E
Bucknell
0
1
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8
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Pittsburgh
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4
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2
5
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11
10
2
Panthers Rally to Beat Bucknell in Home Opener
2/28/2023 8:14:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt baseball team (5-3) rallied late with a five-run eighth inning to beat Bucknell (2-5), 11-8, on Tuesday in the 2023 home opener at Charles Cost Field. The Panthers ran their winning streak to three in a row with the victory.
"Gutsy performance," head coach Mike Bell said. "We've done so much on the road; I really feel like it's important to feel comfortable at home. Our guys showed a lot of energy, a lot of fight today. It was great to be here in Pittsburgh in February."
The Panthers took a 4-1 lead in the third inning with one swing of the bat, as CJ Funk belted a grand slam to right. The table was set for the bases-loaded round tripper by a leadoff walk by Dom Popa followed by a single to right by Johnny Long III and a walk by Sky Duff.
The Bison retaliated with seven runs over the middle innings, however, scoring one in the fourth, three in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Dylan Simmons steadied the waters for the Panthers in the top of the seventh by working around a single to strike out the side. Pitt then chipped away at its deficit thanks to a two-run double by Noah Martinez in the home half of the frame.
After Quin Konuszewski forced Bucknell to strand a runner in the top of the eighth, the Panthers responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead. Brett Heckert got it started with a pinch-hit double down the left field line to lead things off. A bases-loaded walk by Martinez followed by Jack Anderson getting hit by a pitch tied things up at eight-all. AJ Nessler then coaxed a walk to push across the go-ahead run. An infield single by Justin Acal scored the 10th run, and Dom Popa made it a three-run lead with another bases-loaded walk.
Nash Bryan came on to close things out in the top of the ninth and got a strikeout swinging and a strikeout looking to end the game. He earned his first save as a Panther.
Funk led Pitt at the plate with a 3-for-4 effort. He homered for the third time this season to tie him with Martinez for the team lead. His grand slam marked Pitt's third in the last five games and second game in a row with one. In his first game and start as a Panther, Acal collected a pair of hits.
Simmons struck out four over 1.1 frames of relief. Konuszewski was credited with the pitching victory. Holden Phelps made his first start on the mound as a Panther and struck out four in four innings of work.
"We had to show a lot of patience," Bell said of the win. "I thought Holden Phelps was really good early in the ballgame. CJ Funk with a big grand slam as we built some innings with some quality at-bats. Kind of let it get away through the middle there, but I thought Dylan Simmons, Q (Quin Konuszewski) and Nash Bryant were outstanding. Our plate discipline really helped us there in the seventh and the eighth. Brett Heckert with a big pinch-hit double getting us started there in the eighth."
Pitt begins its spring break trip this weekend, visiting Deland, Fla., to play Mount St. Mary's and host Stetson.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
"Gutsy performance," head coach Mike Bell said. "We've done so much on the road; I really feel like it's important to feel comfortable at home. Our guys showed a lot of energy, a lot of fight today. It was great to be here in Pittsburgh in February."
The Panthers took a 4-1 lead in the third inning with one swing of the bat, as CJ Funk belted a grand slam to right. The table was set for the bases-loaded round tripper by a leadoff walk by Dom Popa followed by a single to right by Johnny Long III and a walk by Sky Duff.
The Bison retaliated with seven runs over the middle innings, however, scoring one in the fourth, three in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Dylan Simmons steadied the waters for the Panthers in the top of the seventh by working around a single to strike out the side. Pitt then chipped away at its deficit thanks to a two-run double by Noah Martinez in the home half of the frame.
After Quin Konuszewski forced Bucknell to strand a runner in the top of the eighth, the Panthers responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead. Brett Heckert got it started with a pinch-hit double down the left field line to lead things off. A bases-loaded walk by Martinez followed by Jack Anderson getting hit by a pitch tied things up at eight-all. AJ Nessler then coaxed a walk to push across the go-ahead run. An infield single by Justin Acal scored the 10th run, and Dom Popa made it a three-run lead with another bases-loaded walk.
Nash Bryan came on to close things out in the top of the ninth and got a strikeout swinging and a strikeout looking to end the game. He earned his first save as a Panther.
Funk led Pitt at the plate with a 3-for-4 effort. He homered for the third time this season to tie him with Martinez for the team lead. His grand slam marked Pitt's third in the last five games and second game in a row with one. In his first game and start as a Panther, Acal collected a pair of hits.
Simmons struck out four over 1.1 frames of relief. Konuszewski was credited with the pitching victory. Holden Phelps made his first start on the mound as a Panther and struck out four in four innings of work.
"We had to show a lot of patience," Bell said of the win. "I thought Holden Phelps was really good early in the ballgame. CJ Funk with a big grand slam as we built some innings with some quality at-bats. Kind of let it get away through the middle there, but I thought Dylan Simmons, Q (Quin Konuszewski) and Nash Bryant were outstanding. Our plate discipline really helped us there in the seventh and the eighth. Brett Heckert with a big pinch-hit double getting us started there in the eighth."
Pitt begins its spring break trip this weekend, visiting Deland, Fla., to play Mount St. Mary's and host Stetson.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Konuszewski, Quin (1-0)
L: Terwilliger (0-1)
S: Bryan, Nash (1)
Batting:
2B: S. Keys 1 ; N. Adamo 1
HR: J. Corson 1
RBI: J. Corson 3 ; B. Kender 1 ; S. Keys 2 ; N. Adamo 1
Base Running:
RUNS: J. Corson 2 ; G. Voytovich 1 ; T. Dunn 1 ; B. Kender 1 ; S. Keys 1 ; J. Wortman 1 ; Terwilliger 1
SB: J. Corson 1 ; S. Keys 1 ; K. Lyons 1
HBP: J. Corson 1 ; T. Dunn 1 ; S. Keys 1
Batting:
2B: Martinez, Noah 1 ; Tavarez, Tommy 1 ; Heckert, Brett 1
HR: Funk, C.J. 1
RBI: Funk, C.J. 4 ; Martinez, Noah 3 ; Anderson, Jack 1 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; Acal, Justin 1 ; Popa, Dom 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duff, Sky 3 ; Funk, C.J. 3 ; Martinez, Noah 1 ; Anderson, Jack 1 ; Popa, Dom 1 ; Long III, Johnny 1 ; Heckert, Brett 1
HBP: Duff, Sky 1 ; Anderson, Jack 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
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1B/C
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RHP
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INF
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P
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C
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UTL
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RHP
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RHP
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