Pitt
Duke
Panthers Take On Duke in Durham This Weekend
3/30/2023 6:30:00 PM | Baseball
1. PANTHERS TRAVEL TO DURHAM TO TAKE ON DUKE
The Pitt baseball team (11-11, 3-4 ACC) will play its second ACC road series of the 2023 season as it visits Coastal Division foe Duke (16-9, 4-5 ACC) this weekend at Jack Coombs Field. It's a key early season matchup as the Blue Devils are just ahead of the Panthers in the ACC Coastal Division standings.
The series opener is slated for Friday at 6 p.m. Game two will take place Saturday at 3 p.m. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. All three contests will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Pitt at Duke | Friday, March 31 | 6 p.m. | Jack Coombs Field | Durham, N.C.
ACC Network Extra | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt Jr. RHP #43 Jack Sokol (2-1, 7.82 ERA) vs. Duke So. LHP #12 Jonathan Santucci (2-1, 3.86 ERA)
Pitt at Duke | Saturday, April 1 | 3 p.m. | Jack Coombs Field | Durham, N.C.
ACC Network Extra | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt Jr. RHP #17 Kyle Mosley (0-3, 6.65 ERA) vs. Duke Gr. RHP #51 Alex Gow (2-2, 3.05 ERA)
Pitt at Duke | Sunday, April 2 | 1 p.m. | Jack Coombs Field | Durham, N.C.
ACC Network Extra | StatBroadcast
Pitching Matchup: Pitt TBA vs. Duke TBA
2. THEY GET ON BASE
Three Panthers have three double-digit reached base streaks going. Noah Martinez and Jack Anderson lead the pack with 22 straight games while CJ Funk is close behind at 19 in a row.
3. MULTIPLYING HOMERS
Pitt has hit multiple home runs in 10 games this year, including five of the last seven games.
A total of eight Panthers have hit multiple home runs on the season so far, with CJ Funk (8) and Noah Martinez (6) leading the way.
WALK THIS WAY
Pitt ranks 14th in the country with 151 walks on the season. Noah Martinez is 9th in the nation with 27 walks while CJ Funk is 23rd in the country with 24 free passes.
IMPACT TRANSFER
A transfer from Central Connecticut State, Noah Martinez has made an impact through 22 games with the Panthers this season.
Martinez is leading the team in batting average (.338), slugging percentage (.636), on base percentage (.500), hits (26) and RBI (27) while ranking second in home runs (6).
Martinez was recently named to D1Baseball's Week 6 list of the top 50 first basemen in the country, coming in at No. 25.
OFF TO A GOOD START
Freshman AJ Nessler is off to a solid start to his collegiate career. Nessler ranks second on the team in RBI (24) and is third in batting average (.278) and fourth in hits (22). He also leads the team with a pair of triples. His nine multi-RBI games lead the team.
WE'VE GOT THE FUNK
CJ Funk has shown both power and patience at the plate this season. He leads Pitt with eight home runs and ranks second on the team in slugging percentage (.617) and third in RBI (21). His 24 walks are second on the team while his on base percentage of .430 ranks fourth.
HIT PARADE
Sky Duff is riding a team long five-game hitting streak into this weekend's series at Duke. He currently ranks second on the team with 25 hits and ranks fourth in batting average (.271) and fifth in on base percentage (.412).
BRYAN THRIVING OUT OF BULLPEN
Nash Bryan has been an impactful arm out of the bullpen for Pitt this season. He leads the team in wins (4) and saves (2) and owns a 3.31 ERA. He has struck out 21 while giving up just six earned runs on 13 hits and three walks over 11 appearances and 16.1 innings.
COMING IN HOT
Over the last two games, Johnny Long III is hitting .625 with five hits - including a home run - to go along with three RBI and two runs scored.
PILING UP STRIKEOUTS
Jack Sokol has struck at least five batters in four of his starts this season and has fanned at least nine in three of those games, including a season-high 10 in seven innings against Mount St. Mary's earlier this month. Sokol's 37 strikeouts this season are a team high.
FORMER PANTHER HARRIS MAKES OPENING DAY ROSTER FOR NATIONALS
Former Panther Hobie Harris made the 2023 Opening Day roster for the Washington Nationals. Harris appeared in 44 games, including two starts, in his two years with the Panthers. He struck out 81 batters in 92.0 career innings pitched. Harris was drafted in the 31st round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees with the 933rd overall pick.
SCOUTING DUKE
Pitt is 11-17 all-time against Duke, but the Panthers took two of three from the Blue Devils at home last season (W, 14-4; W, 3-2; L, 15-5). Pitt dropped of three to Duke in its last visit to Durham in 2021 (L, 3-1; L, 8-1; W, 5-4).
Chris Pollard has been the head coach at Duke since 2013 and has guided the Blue Devils to two NCAA Super Regionals (2018, '19) and an ACC Baseball Tournament Championshp title (2021).
The Blue Devils dropped two of three on the road to North Carolina last weekend (L, 6-3; W, 8-5; L, 5-3) in Chapel Hill, N.C. Duke earned a 7-3 win over Liberty in midweek action on Tuesday.
Alex Mooney is batting a team-best .359 with a team-high 37 hits for the Blue Devils. Jay Beshears leads Duke with 11 doubles and 32 RBI and is tied with Andrew Fischer for the team lead with seven home runs.
On the mound, Jonathan Santucci has made six starts and is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He's struck out 44 over 25.2 innings. James Tallon has made nine appearances out of the bullpen and logged five saves. He sports a 0.71 ERA with 20 strikeouts against just two walks in 12.2 innings of work.
UP NEXT
Pitt plays another midweek road game next Tuesday when it visits Youngstown State in a 5 p.m. matchup.
