Friday, April 21
Pittsburgh, PA
6 PM
Pitt
17-19, 8-9
3
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Wake Forest
32-6, 14-4
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9
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Wake Forest
0
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Pittsburgh
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1
0
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X
3
7
1
Panthers Record 3-0 Shutout Win Over No. 2 Wake Forest in Series Opener
4/21/2023 9:52:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers (17-19, 8-9 ACC) shutout No. 2 Wake Forest (32-6, 14-4 ACC) for a series opening win Friday night at Charles L. Cost Field. The Panthers got a pair of solo home rums as well as and excellent pitching and defensive effort en route to the programs highest ranked win since a 1-0 victory over No. 1 Virginia March 7, 2015.
Head coach Mike Bell collected his 100th win at Pitt as the Panthers posted their first shutout since defeating NC A&T 10-0 last April..
"[This] was great for the guys. There have been some guys that have been here since day one when we got here; it's an attribute to them, their hard work, their determination," said Bell. "We've got great assistants, great support, a great staff, and that's why we have been able to do the things we have done."
The Panther pitching staff delivered against a potent Wake Forest offense with starter Jack Sokol setting the tone with five strong innings. He allowing no runs on three hits and struck out a pair before turning it over to the bullpen, Junior Dylan Simmons came on in the top of the sixth inning and threw three flawless innings in relief with grad transfer and hometown kid, Nash Bryan, shutting the door in the ninth to earn his fifth save in the process.
Justin Acal paced the Panther offense going 3-for-3 with a solo home run in the second inning, and two singles. He also reached base on a hit by pitch and made a stellar diving play up the middle in the late innings of this contest.
Jayden Melendez opened with scoring in the first inning with a solo shot down the left field line for his sixth home run of the season. He finished the night 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Wake Forest had one of its few threats in the top of the first inning, After a walk, a hit by pitch, and passed ball, the Demon Deacons found themselves with two runners in scoring position. Sokol slammed the door as CJ Funk made a nice play on a low line drive to right field to end the threat.
Acal launched the first pitch he saw off the bottom of the second off the the scoreboard in left center field to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Pitt struck again two innings later as Funk worked a walk to lead off the inning and Acal followed with a single to left field. Caleb Sturtevant laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. Anthony LaSala grounded into a run-scoring fielders choice with Funk scampering home for a 3-0 advantage.
Wake Forest threatened again in the top half of the fifth, but Noah Martinez made a great leaping catch on a line drive to end the innings and keep the Demon Deacons off the scoreboard. LaSala added a couple nice defensive plays on hard hit balls up the middle as the Panther defense played well throuought the contest.
Simmons pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings for Pitt, allowing only two hits and striking out three. Bryan retired the first two batters in the ninth before Wake Forest extended the game with a two-strike opposite field single, but the Panther closer bounced back with a strikeout of the next batter to secure the shutout.
Pitt returns tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. on the ACC Network. The Panther's projected starter will be RHP Logan Evans, opposing him for Wake Forest will be RHP Rhett Lowder.
TAKING DOWN A TOP 5 TEAM
Friday's win was Bell's sixth win over a Top 5 opponent at Pitt ... it was also highest ranked win of his career.
Head coach Mike Bell collected his 100th win at Pitt as the Panthers posted their first shutout since defeating NC A&T 10-0 last April..
"[This] was great for the guys. There have been some guys that have been here since day one when we got here; it's an attribute to them, their hard work, their determination," said Bell. "We've got great assistants, great support, a great staff, and that's why we have been able to do the things we have done."
The Panther pitching staff delivered against a potent Wake Forest offense with starter Jack Sokol setting the tone with five strong innings. He allowing no runs on three hits and struck out a pair before turning it over to the bullpen, Junior Dylan Simmons came on in the top of the sixth inning and threw three flawless innings in relief with grad transfer and hometown kid, Nash Bryan, shutting the door in the ninth to earn his fifth save in the process.
Justin Acal paced the Panther offense going 3-for-3 with a solo home run in the second inning, and two singles. He also reached base on a hit by pitch and made a stellar diving play up the middle in the late innings of this contest.
Jayden Melendez opened with scoring in the first inning with a solo shot down the left field line for his sixth home run of the season. He finished the night 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Wake Forest had one of its few threats in the top of the first inning, After a walk, a hit by pitch, and passed ball, the Demon Deacons found themselves with two runners in scoring position. Sokol slammed the door as CJ Funk made a nice play on a low line drive to right field to end the threat.
Acal launched the first pitch he saw off the bottom of the second off the the scoreboard in left center field to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Pitt struck again two innings later as Funk worked a walk to lead off the inning and Acal followed with a single to left field. Caleb Sturtevant laid down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with nobody out. Anthony LaSala grounded into a run-scoring fielders choice with Funk scampering home for a 3-0 advantage.
Wake Forest threatened again in the top half of the fifth, but Noah Martinez made a great leaping catch on a line drive to end the innings and keep the Demon Deacons off the scoreboard. LaSala added a couple nice defensive plays on hard hit balls up the middle as the Panther defense played well throuought the contest.
Simmons pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings for Pitt, allowing only two hits and striking out three. Bryan retired the first two batters in the ninth before Wake Forest extended the game with a two-strike opposite field single, but the Panther closer bounced back with a strikeout of the next batter to secure the shutout.
Pitt returns tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. on the ACC Network. The Panther's projected starter will be RHP Logan Evans, opposing him for Wake Forest will be RHP Rhett Lowder.
TAKING DOWN A TOP 5 TEAM
Friday's win was Bell's sixth win over a Top 5 opponent at Pitt ... it was also highest ranked win of his career.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Sokol, Jack (5-3)
L: S.Sullivan (5-2)
S: Bryan, Nash (5)
Batting:
2B: G.Cueto 1
Base Running:
HBP: B.Wilken 1
Batting:
HR: Melendez, Jayden 1 ; Acal, Justin 1
RBI: Melendez, Jayden 1 ; Acal, Justin 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Melendez, Jayden 1 ; Funk, C.J. 1 ; Acal, Justin 1
SB: Acal, Justin 1
HBP: Duff, Sky 1 ; Anderson, Jack 1 ; Acal, Justin 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
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P
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INF
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RHP
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RHP
/ BaseballOF
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