Pitt
Virginia
Panthers Visit No. 5 Virginia This Weekend
4/13/2023 11:22:00 AM | Baseball
PANTHERS TRAVEL TO CHARLOTTESVILLE TO FACE NO. 5 VIRGINIA
The Pitt baseball team (14-17, 5-8 ACC) heads to Charlottesville, Va., to square off against No. 5 Virginia (30-4, 11-4 ACC) this weekend in a three-game ACC series at Davenport Field at Disharoon Park.
Friday's series opener and Saturday's second game are both scheduled for 6 p.m. starts. The Sunday series finale is scheduled to get underway at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra.
LOOKING TO BOUNCE BACK
Pitt is looking to bounce back from a pair of midweek losses. The Panthers dropped a 9-4 decision to Youngstown State at Charles Cost Field on Monday, then fell on the road at Kent State, 5-2, the following day.
THEY GET ON BASE
Four Panthers have four double-digit reached base streaks going. Jack Anderson leads the pack with 31 straight games while CJ Funk is close behind at 28 in a row. Sky Duff has reached base in each of the last 18 games while Kyle Hess has achieved the feat in 13 straight games.
MULTIPLYING HOMERS
Pitt has hit multiple home runs in 15 games this year, including 10 of the last 16 games. The Panthers have hit at least three home runs in a game four times this year, including a season-high four against Virginia Tech on March 25.
A total of nine Panthers have hit multiple home runs on the season so far, with CJ Funk (11), Noah Martinez (7), Jack Anderson (5), Justin Acal (5) and Jayden Melendez (5) leading the way.
WALK THIS WAY
Pitt ranks sixth in the country with 206 walks on the season. CJ Funk is third in the nation with 35 walks while Noah Martinez and Jack Anderson are tied for 10th in the country with 33 free passes apiece.
WE'VE GOT THE FUNK
CJ Funk has shown both power and patience at the plate this season. He leads Pitt with 11 home runs and a .661 slugging percentage and owns the team lead with 33 RBI. His 35 walks lead the team while his on base percentage of .460 is tied for second. His 11 multi-RBI games are a team high.
IMPACT TRANSFER
A transfer from Central Connecticut State, Noah Martinez has made an impact with the Panthers this season. Martinez is leading the team in hits (36), is tied for second in on base percentage (.460) and ranks second in batting average (.313), home runs (7) and RBI (32).
Martinez was recently named to D1Baseball's Week 6 list of the top 50 first basemen in the country, coming in at No. 25.
RECORD BREAKER
In the eighth inning of Pitt's comeback win over Notre Dame, Sky Duff coaxed a walk, the 149th of his Pitt tenure to set the program's new career record. His career total now stands at 151.
With 50 career doubles, Duff is also four shy of breaking Pitt's career record of 53 owned by John Shultz (2008-11).
This season, Duff is tied for second on the team in hits (32) and leads the squad with 11 doubles.
JACK OF ALL TRADES
Jack Anderson has his name in the top five of several statistical categories for the Panthers this season. He leads the team in on base percentage (.466), is tied for second in hits (32), is tied for third in home runs (5) and ranks fourth in batting average (.291) and RBI (24) and fifth in slugging percentage (.455).
WELCOME BACK
After missing the first 12 games of the year with an injury, Kyle Hess has made an impact since his return to the lineup. Hess sports a team-best .333 batting average and ranks third in slugging percentage (.590) and fourth in on base percentage (.424). His three triples are tied with AJ Nessler for the team lead.
Hess enters this weekend's series against Virginia riding a current team long 10-game hitting streak.
THRIVING OUT OF BULLPEN
Nash Bryan, Matthew Fernandez and Dylan Simmons have been impactful arms out of the bullpen for Pitt this season.
Bryan leads the team in wins (5) and saves (2) and owns a 3.42 ERA. He has struck out 29 while giving up just nine earned runs on 20 hits and five walks over a team-high 15 appearances and 23.2 innings.
Fernandez has made 11 appearances, striking out 37 over 29 innings. Simmons has fanned 35 over 13 appearances and 23.1 frames.
PILING UP STRIKEOUTS
Jack Sokol has struck at least five batters in five 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 46 strikeouts this season are a team high.
OFF TO A GOOD START
Freshman AJ Nessler is off to a solid start to his collegiate career. Nessler third on the team in batting average (.293), third in RBI (28) and fifth in on base percentage (.407) and hits (29).
SCOUTING VIRGINIA
Virginia enters this weekend's series against Pitt sporting a 30-4 overall record, including an 11-4 mark in ACC play, and is riding a six-game winning streak. The Cavaliers are a perfect 22-0 at home.
Kyle Teel sports a team-best .437 batting average and a team-high 59 hits while Jake Gelof leads the Cavaliers in doubles (14), home runs (14) and RBI (56). Seven Cavaliers have driven in at least 25 runs.
Virginia boasts a team ERA of 2.94, with seven arms that have made at least eight appearances owning sub-3.00 ERAs. Brian Edgington is 6-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a team-high 53 strikeouts while Connelly Early is 7-1 with a 2.72 ERA and 43 strikeouts.
Out of the bullpen, Kevin Jaxel owns a 1.17 ERA with 22 strikeouts against just two walks in 12 appearances. Jay Woolfolk and Jake Berry have each logged four saves.
UP NEXT
Pitt hosts rival West Virginia at PNC Park next Wednesday in a 6 p.m. showdown.
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