Friday, March 31
Durham, NC
6 PM
Pitt
12-11, 3-5
13
at
1
Duke
16-10, 4-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Pittsburgh
0
0
0
3
2
5
1
0
2
13
13
0
Duke
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
1
Panthers Put Together Complete Effort to Down Duke in Series Opener
3/31/2023 10:43:00 PM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. – Jack Anderson hit two home runs and CJ Funk hit another to help muscle the Pitt baseball team (12-11, 4-4 ACC) past Duke (16-10, 4-6 ACC), 13-1, Friday at Jack Coombs Field in the series opener between the ACC Coastal Division foes.
"I thought it was our most complete game as a team this year," head coach Mike Bell said. "A total team effort up and down."
Anderson accounted for four of Pitt's 13 hits, going 4-for-6 with a three-run homer and a two-run round-tripper. Eight of Pitt's nine starters in the lineup collected a hit. Anthony LaSala finished with a double and a single while Noah Martinez hit a pair of singles.
"Offensive approach was outstanding," Bell said. "Moving runners, putting guys in scoring position. Not just the home runs by Funk and Anderson, but the situational hitting and driving guys in with sac flies."
On the mound, Jack Sokol put together another strong start, fanning seven over 6.2 innings while surrendering just one earned run on three hits and five walks. Dylan Simmons and Nash Bryan combined for 2.1 spotless frames of relief, with Bryan striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth inning.
"Sokol was outstanding, not only putting up the zeros but giving us length in the game," Bell said. "That's something we need to continue to get out of our starters to allow us to shorten the bullpen on the back end."
Duke took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a two-out solo home run.
Pitt jumped in front in the top of the fourth and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. Kyle Hess coaxed a leadoff walk, and Martinez followed with a single through the left side. That set the stage for Funk's three-run blast over the left field wall, his team leading ninth home run of the season.
The Panthers added two more runs to their total in the fifth. LaSala led off the frame with a double off the wall in left. After Sky Duff beat out an infield single to short, LaSala scored Pitt's fourth run on a wild pitch. One out later, Duff tagged up and scored from third as Hess served up a sacrifice fly to center.
Pitt's lead increased to nine runs in the sixth. Funk drew a leadoff walk, AJ Nessler singled to left and advanced to second on the throw and Justin Acal drew a walk to juice the bases for the Panthers. Funk and Nessler then both scored on a fielder's choice and a Duke error to make it a 7-1 ballgame. Duff drew a walk one out later, which was followed by a three-run home run down the left field line by Anderson.
The Panthers' lead swelled to 10 runs in the seventh as Funk drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a bloop single down the right field line by LaSala.
Pitt continued to add to its total in the ninth. Duff coaxed a two-out walk to set the table for Anderson to hit a two-run homer to center and make it a 12-run affair.
Pitt will go for its second-straight ACC series win when it faces Duke on Saturday in a 3 p.m. matchup.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
"I thought it was our most complete game as a team this year," head coach Mike Bell said. "A total team effort up and down."
Anderson accounted for four of Pitt's 13 hits, going 4-for-6 with a three-run homer and a two-run round-tripper. Eight of Pitt's nine starters in the lineup collected a hit. Anthony LaSala finished with a double and a single while Noah Martinez hit a pair of singles.
"Offensive approach was outstanding," Bell said. "Moving runners, putting guys in scoring position. Not just the home runs by Funk and Anderson, but the situational hitting and driving guys in with sac flies."
On the mound, Jack Sokol put together another strong start, fanning seven over 6.2 innings while surrendering just one earned run on three hits and five walks. Dylan Simmons and Nash Bryan combined for 2.1 spotless frames of relief, with Bryan striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth inning.
"Sokol was outstanding, not only putting up the zeros but giving us length in the game," Bell said. "That's something we need to continue to get out of our starters to allow us to shorten the bullpen on the back end."
Duke took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a two-out solo home run.
Pitt jumped in front in the top of the fourth and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. Kyle Hess coaxed a leadoff walk, and Martinez followed with a single through the left side. That set the stage for Funk's three-run blast over the left field wall, his team leading ninth home run of the season.
The Panthers added two more runs to their total in the fifth. LaSala led off the frame with a double off the wall in left. After Sky Duff beat out an infield single to short, LaSala scored Pitt's fourth run on a wild pitch. One out later, Duff tagged up and scored from third as Hess served up a sacrifice fly to center.
Pitt's lead increased to nine runs in the sixth. Funk drew a leadoff walk, AJ Nessler singled to left and advanced to second on the throw and Justin Acal drew a walk to juice the bases for the Panthers. Funk and Nessler then both scored on a fielder's choice and a Duke error to make it a 7-1 ballgame. Duff drew a walk one out later, which was followed by a three-run home run down the left field line by Anderson.
The Panthers' lead swelled to 10 runs in the seventh as Funk drew a leadoff walk and later scored on a bloop single down the right field line by LaSala.
Pitt continued to add to its total in the ninth. Duff coaxed a two-out walk to set the table for Anderson to hit a two-run homer to center and make it a 12-run affair.
Pitt will go for its second-straight ACC series win when it faces Duke on Saturday in a 3 p.m. matchup.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sokol, Jack (3-1)
L: Santucci, Jonathan (2-2)
Batting:
2B: Hess, Kyle 1 ; Acal, Justin 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
HR: Anderson, Jack 2 ; Funk, C.J. 1
RBI: Anderson, Jack 5 ; Hess, Kyle 1 ; Funk, C.J. 3 ; Long III, Johnny 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
SF: Hess, Kyle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duff, Sky 3 ; Anderson, Jack 2 ; Hess, Kyle 1 ; Martinez, Noah 1 ; Funk, C.J. 3 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; Long III, Johnny 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
Batting:
HR: Lux, Damon 1
RBI: Lux, Damon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lux, Damon 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
6
R
2
H
4
RBI
5
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
1B/C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
UTL
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
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