Wednesday, March 22
Pittsburgh, PA
3 PM
Pitt
8
vs
3
Kent State
Panthers Earn Win Over Kent State
3/22/2023 7:03:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – CJ Funk, AJ Nessler and Jack Anderson provided the Pitt baseball team (9-9) with three home runs en route to an 8-3 victory over Kent State (15-5) on Wednesday at Charles Cost Field.
"I thought it was a great response to being off for a few days," head coach Mike Bell said. "We talked recently about just playing a good brand of baseball, and it usually starts with pitching and defense."
Holden Phelps gave Pitt a strong start on the mound, striking out four in three innings of work.
"I thought Phelps did a phenomenal job of filling up the zone," Bell said.
The Golden Flashes grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on an RBI double, but the Panthers responded by going in front in the bottom of the fourth. Sky Duff led it off with a double to center, setting the table for CJ Funk to hit a two-run home run to center. The round tripper was Funk's team leading seventh of the season.
Pitt tacked on three more runs in the sixth. Funk sent a one-out double to right, and Noah Martinez followed with a walk. One out later, AJ Nessler blasted a three-run home run to center to make it a 5-1 lead for the Panthers.
The middle innings saw relievers Logan Evans, Kyle Mosley and Matthew Fernandez provide Pitt with four scoreless frames. Evans struck out two of the four batters he faced. Mosley permitted just one walk. Fernandez went two innings and fanned one.
Kent State cut into the Pitt lead with a two-run home run in the eighth, but the Panthers put the game out of reach in the home half. Funk and Martinez drew back-to-back one-out walks, setting the stage for Anderson to belt a three-run homer over the wall in left center.
"Jack's home run late really allowed us to breathe a little bit," Bell said. "They chipped away and got two back in the eighth inning there, which kind of got them back in the ballgame. For us to respond like that in the bottom of the eighth really allowed us to breathe a little bit in the ninth."
Nash Bryan then came on to pitch the ninth and struck out the side to end the game.
Funk led Pitt's bats with a 2-for-2 effort that included a pair of extra-base hits, two walks and three runs scored.
Evans was credited with the pitching victory in his first appearance on the mound this year.
"We were able to get some work out of Evans and Mosley in the middle frames," Bell said. "The defense was outstanding. Duff was great at third base. I thought the outfielder outs were good. Tommy (Tavarez) with a great play there in the eighth inning on the run on one of their plus-plus runners."
Pitt is scheduled to conclude its current homestand with a three-game series against Virginia Tech this weekend at Charles Cost Field. The series opener is set for Friday (March 24) at 3 p.m. Game two (Saturday, March 25) is also slated for a 3 p.m. start while the series finale on Sunday (March 26) will get underway at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
"I thought it was a great response to being off for a few days," head coach Mike Bell said. "We talked recently about just playing a good brand of baseball, and it usually starts with pitching and defense."
Holden Phelps gave Pitt a strong start on the mound, striking out four in three innings of work.
"I thought Phelps did a phenomenal job of filling up the zone," Bell said.
The Golden Flashes grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning on an RBI double, but the Panthers responded by going in front in the bottom of the fourth. Sky Duff led it off with a double to center, setting the table for CJ Funk to hit a two-run home run to center. The round tripper was Funk's team leading seventh of the season.
Pitt tacked on three more runs in the sixth. Funk sent a one-out double to right, and Noah Martinez followed with a walk. One out later, AJ Nessler blasted a three-run home run to center to make it a 5-1 lead for the Panthers.
The middle innings saw relievers Logan Evans, Kyle Mosley and Matthew Fernandez provide Pitt with four scoreless frames. Evans struck out two of the four batters he faced. Mosley permitted just one walk. Fernandez went two innings and fanned one.
Kent State cut into the Pitt lead with a two-run home run in the eighth, but the Panthers put the game out of reach in the home half. Funk and Martinez drew back-to-back one-out walks, setting the stage for Anderson to belt a three-run homer over the wall in left center.
"Jack's home run late really allowed us to breathe a little bit," Bell said. "They chipped away and got two back in the eighth inning there, which kind of got them back in the ballgame. For us to respond like that in the bottom of the eighth really allowed us to breathe a little bit in the ninth."
Nash Bryan then came on to pitch the ninth and struck out the side to end the game.
Funk led Pitt's bats with a 2-for-2 effort that included a pair of extra-base hits, two walks and three runs scored.
Evans was credited with the pitching victory in his first appearance on the mound this year.
"We were able to get some work out of Evans and Mosley in the middle frames," Bell said. "The defense was outstanding. Duff was great at third base. I thought the outfielder outs were good. Tommy (Tavarez) with a great play there in the eighth inning on the run on one of their plus-plus runners."
Pitt is scheduled to conclude its current homestand with a three-game series against Virginia Tech this weekend at Charles Cost Field. The series opener is set for Friday (March 24) at 3 p.m. Game two (Saturday, March 25) is also slated for a 3 p.m. start while the series finale on Sunday (March 26) will get underway at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Players Mentioned
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