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Panthers Snap Nation's Longest Home Win Streak with 7-5 Win at No 7 Virginia
4/14/2023 10:59:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt (15-17, 6-8 ACC) scored five-straight runs between the third and sixth innings en route to a 7-5 win over No. 7 Virginia (30-5, 11-5 ACC) Friday evening at Disharoon Park.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Pitt (15-17, 6-8 ACC) scored five-straight runs between the third and sixth innings en route to a 7-5 win over No. 7 Virginia (30-5, 11-5 ACC) Friday evening at Disharoon Park. The Panthers got home runs from Noah Martinez and Justin Acal as well as a solid start on the mound from Jack Sokol to snap Virginia's 23-game home win streak, the longest in the nation and the longest in program history.
"We talked about it as a team, we are here to win a series, and that starts with game one," said head coach Mike Bell. "The fact that they (Virginia) had a 23-game home win streak just shows how confident and comfortable we are playing here."
Eight of the nine Pitt starters collected hits with Sky Duff (2-3, 2 BB), Jack Anderson (3-4, RBI), Kyle Hess (3-5), and Justin Acal (2-4, 1 HR 2 RBI) leading the way offensively with multiple hit games.
Pitt's starting pitcher Jack Sokol picked up his fourth win of the year (4-2) earning praise from Bell for his "outstanding" effort on the mound. He struck out six, gave up seven hits and only allowed two runs in five strong innings for the Panthers.
Fernandez came on in relief to start the bottom of the sixth, going 2.2 innings, striking out a pair, and surrendering two runs. He bridged the gap from starter to closer, as Nash Bryan came on with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and closed it out for the Panthers, earning his third save of the season.
The Panthers struck first in the opening frame as third baseman Duff lead off the game with a double into the left-center gap. Catcher Jayden Melendez immediately followed with a single, moving Duff to third base. With runners then on the corners, Duff crossed the plate two pitches later on an RBI fielder's choice by Martinez, his 13th RBI of the season.
Virginia's offense got on the board in the bottom half of the third inning as Griff O'Ferrall came home on a Jake Gelof sacrafice fly to centerfield to tie the game. Kyle Teel immediately followed with home run to left to put the Cavaliers up 2-1.
Back-to-back singles by Anderson and Hess put the Panthers in a good position with runners on first and third to start the fourth inning. A CJ Funk sac fly to center in the next at-bat plated Anderson and knot the game at 2-2. The Panthers and Cavaliers traded similar offensive sequences, as second baseman Justin Acal drove a 2-0 pitch over all of the fans sitting in the leftfield bleachers, almost leaving the ballpark entirely to put the Pitt back in front 4-2.
After reaching base for the third straight time to start the game in the fifth inning, Duff scored on an Anderson single that fell between two UVA outfielders in the right-center gap for a 5-2 Pitt lead.
The Panthers played some small ball to start the top of the 6th inning. After singles by Funk and Acal, Caleb Sturtevant moved them both into scoring position after a SAC bunt. Anthony Lasala dropped down a well-placed squeeze bunt in the next at-bat to score Funk from third and cap the string of five consecutive runs by Pitt.
The Cavaliers did not go down quietly however, as Gelof plated both runs scored in the seventh and eighth innings to trim the Panthers lead to 6-4 heading into the ninth.
Pitt added some insurance in the top half of the inning, as Martinez came up to the dish and hit is eighth home run of the season to give the Panthers a three-run cushion.
Bryan shut the door for Pitt in the ninth to clinch back-to-back ACC wins for the Panthers. Pitt also secure its third win in the past four meetings against the Cavaliers.
Pitt is back in action tomorrow night at 6PM vs. Virginia at Disharoon Park. Projected starters will be RHP Logan Evans for the Panthers and RHP Nick Parker for the Cavaliers.
"We talked about it as a team, we are here to win a series, and that starts with game one," said head coach Mike Bell. "The fact that they (Virginia) had a 23-game home win streak just shows how confident and comfortable we are playing here."
Eight of the nine Pitt starters collected hits with Sky Duff (2-3, 2 BB), Jack Anderson (3-4, RBI), Kyle Hess (3-5), and Justin Acal (2-4, 1 HR 2 RBI) leading the way offensively with multiple hit games.
Pitt's starting pitcher Jack Sokol picked up his fourth win of the year (4-2) earning praise from Bell for his "outstanding" effort on the mound. He struck out six, gave up seven hits and only allowed two runs in five strong innings for the Panthers.
Fernandez came on in relief to start the bottom of the sixth, going 2.2 innings, striking out a pair, and surrendering two runs. He bridged the gap from starter to closer, as Nash Bryan came on with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning and closed it out for the Panthers, earning his third save of the season.
The Panthers struck first in the opening frame as third baseman Duff lead off the game with a double into the left-center gap. Catcher Jayden Melendez immediately followed with a single, moving Duff to third base. With runners then on the corners, Duff crossed the plate two pitches later on an RBI fielder's choice by Martinez, his 13th RBI of the season.
Virginia's offense got on the board in the bottom half of the third inning as Griff O'Ferrall came home on a Jake Gelof sacrafice fly to centerfield to tie the game. Kyle Teel immediately followed with home run to left to put the Cavaliers up 2-1.
Back-to-back singles by Anderson and Hess put the Panthers in a good position with runners on first and third to start the fourth inning. A CJ Funk sac fly to center in the next at-bat plated Anderson and knot the game at 2-2. The Panthers and Cavaliers traded similar offensive sequences, as second baseman Justin Acal drove a 2-0 pitch over all of the fans sitting in the leftfield bleachers, almost leaving the ballpark entirely to put the Pitt back in front 4-2.
After reaching base for the third straight time to start the game in the fifth inning, Duff scored on an Anderson single that fell between two UVA outfielders in the right-center gap for a 5-2 Pitt lead.
The Panthers played some small ball to start the top of the 6th inning. After singles by Funk and Acal, Caleb Sturtevant moved them both into scoring position after a SAC bunt. Anthony Lasala dropped down a well-placed squeeze bunt in the next at-bat to score Funk from third and cap the string of five consecutive runs by Pitt.
The Cavaliers did not go down quietly however, as Gelof plated both runs scored in the seventh and eighth innings to trim the Panthers lead to 6-4 heading into the ninth.
Pitt added some insurance in the top half of the inning, as Martinez came up to the dish and hit is eighth home run of the season to give the Panthers a three-run cushion.
Bryan shut the door for Pitt in the ninth to clinch back-to-back ACC wins for the Panthers. Pitt also secure its third win in the past four meetings against the Cavaliers.
Pitt is back in action tomorrow night at 6PM vs. Virginia at Disharoon Park. Projected starters will be RHP Logan Evans for the Panthers and RHP Nick Parker for the Cavaliers.
Hear from Coach Bell following tonight's victory over No. 5 Virginia.???#H2P | @CoachMikeBell22 pic.twitter.com/mZP9hH5fUT
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) April 15, 2023
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sokol, Jack (4-2)
L: Edgington, B (6-1)
S: Bryan, Nash (3)
Batting:
2B: Duff, Sky 1
HR: Martinez, Noah 1 ; Acal, Justin 1
RBI: Martinez, Noah 2 ; Anderson, Jack 1 ; Funk, C.J. 1 ; Acal, Justin 2 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
SH: Sturtevant, Caleb 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
SF: Funk, C.J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duff, Sky 2 ; Martinez, Noah 1 ; Anderson, Jack 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1 ; Funk, C.J. 1 ; Acal, Justin 1
SB: Hess, Kyle 1
CS: Duff, Sky 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1
HBP: Melendez, Jayden 1
PO: Sturtevant, Caleb 1
Batting:
2B: O'Ferrall, G 1 ; Gelof, J. 1 ; Teel, K. 1 ; Anderson, E. 1
HR: Gelof, J. 1 ; Teel, K. 1
RBI: Gelof, J. 3 ; Teel, K. 1
SF: Gelof, J. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: O'Ferrall, G 2 ; Gelof, J. 1 ; Teel, K. 1 ; Saucke, C. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
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1B/C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
P
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
C/INF
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OF
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