Saturday, April 29
Pittsburgh, PA
3 PM
Pitt
19-21
5
vs
3
California
18-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
California
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
3
9
1
Pitt
0
0
0
1
0
4
0
0
X
5
6
0
Logan Evans Propels Pitt to a Series-Clinching Victory Over Cal
4/29/2023 7:40:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH, PA -- The Pitt Panthers (19-21, 8-11 ACC) clinched a series victory in game two over the California Golden Bears (18-21, 6-16 PAC 12), behind dominant pitching and situational hitting.
Logan Evans had a career day on the mound for the Panthers, striking out 10 batters in 6.1 innings. He has struck out at least nine batters in two of his last three starts. He struck out at least two batters in four of his innings this afternoon to add to that.
"Logan Evans was phenomenal right from the get-go…[he]set the tone." said head coach Mike Bell.
Johnny Long III collected his third three-hit game of the season today, going 3-4 with a run scored. Sky Duff is making sure no one comes close to his career walks record, he registered back-to-back three plus walk games for the first time since March of 2020. He now stands at 162 career walks, 14 more than any other Panther in Pitt Baseball history.
The bullpen yet again got the job done in the later innings. Matthew Fernandez came on in relief during the top of the seventh and threw 1.2 innings, giving up only one run while bridging the gap from starter to closer. Nash Bryan came on in the ninth for the second straight game, filled up the zone with strikes, and earned his sixth save of the season.
Logan Evans shoved through the first four innings, facing the minimum 12 batters, and striking out seven of them. Caleb Lomavita reached on a one-out single in the top of the fourth but would be picked off by Evans a few pitches later.
Pitt struck first in the bottom half of the fourth. After a Justin Acal walk, Johnny Long III hit a ball up the middle that jammed the shortstop trying to make a tough play, both Long III and Acal would be safe on the play. Another walk, this time to Dom Popa would load the bases for freshman Anthony LaSala. LaSala lined a sac fly to centerfield that scored Acal from third, Panthers led 1-0 after four.
California threatened the very next inning in the top of the fifth, loading the bases after a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Evans would get pinch-hitter Nico Button to bounce out to Acal at second to escape the jam.
The Panthers played some small ball and utilized situational hitting to plate four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Acal led off the inning with a perfectly placed bloop double down the rightfield line, he would advance to third on Johnny Long III's second single of the day. With runners now on the corners and nobody out, Dom Popa laid down a beautifully executed safety squeeze to score Acal from third. Pitt laid down back-to-back bunts as Anthony LaSala in the very next at-bat pushed a bunt up the first baseline, resulting in an error by Cal's first baseman, and loading the bases again for the Panthers. A Duff walk scored Long III and moved everyone else one base closer, Pitt now led 3-0. Kyle Hess came up and hit a deep sac fly to center field, scoring not only Popa from third, but also LaSala all the way from second base. There were no misplays in the Cal outfield or on the relay, LaSala simply hustled and scored from second base. The Panthers led 5-0 after six innings.
Cal immediately answer Pitt's four-spot in the sixth with a three-spot of their own in the top of the seventh. Matthew Fernandez came in to relieve Logan Evans in the middle of the top of the seventh inning. Evans finished with a final line of 6.1 IP, 10 Ks, 6 Hits, 2 ERs, and 1 BB. His 10 strikeouts are a single-game career high for him. Fernandez threw a scoreless eighth inning before Pitt brought in Nash Bryan to close it out in the ninth.
Bryan earned his 6th save of the year in yet another scoreless outing for the graduate transfer. Kyle Hess ended the game with an exclamation point as he made a leaping catch against the wall in left center for record the final out of this one.
Pitt will look to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. Kyle Mosely is projected to be on the bump for the Panthers.
Logan Evans had a career day on the mound for the Panthers, striking out 10 batters in 6.1 innings. He has struck out at least nine batters in two of his last three starts. He struck out at least two batters in four of his innings this afternoon to add to that.
"Logan Evans was phenomenal right from the get-go…[he]set the tone." said head coach Mike Bell.
Johnny Long III collected his third three-hit game of the season today, going 3-4 with a run scored. Sky Duff is making sure no one comes close to his career walks record, he registered back-to-back three plus walk games for the first time since March of 2020. He now stands at 162 career walks, 14 more than any other Panther in Pitt Baseball history.
The bullpen yet again got the job done in the later innings. Matthew Fernandez came on in relief during the top of the seventh and threw 1.2 innings, giving up only one run while bridging the gap from starter to closer. Nash Bryan came on in the ninth for the second straight game, filled up the zone with strikes, and earned his sixth save of the season.
Logan Evans shoved through the first four innings, facing the minimum 12 batters, and striking out seven of them. Caleb Lomavita reached on a one-out single in the top of the fourth but would be picked off by Evans a few pitches later.
Pitt struck first in the bottom half of the fourth. After a Justin Acal walk, Johnny Long III hit a ball up the middle that jammed the shortstop trying to make a tough play, both Long III and Acal would be safe on the play. Another walk, this time to Dom Popa would load the bases for freshman Anthony LaSala. LaSala lined a sac fly to centerfield that scored Acal from third, Panthers led 1-0 after four.
California threatened the very next inning in the top of the fifth, loading the bases after a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Evans would get pinch-hitter Nico Button to bounce out to Acal at second to escape the jam.
The Panthers played some small ball and utilized situational hitting to plate four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Acal led off the inning with a perfectly placed bloop double down the rightfield line, he would advance to third on Johnny Long III's second single of the day. With runners now on the corners and nobody out, Dom Popa laid down a beautifully executed safety squeeze to score Acal from third. Pitt laid down back-to-back bunts as Anthony LaSala in the very next at-bat pushed a bunt up the first baseline, resulting in an error by Cal's first baseman, and loading the bases again for the Panthers. A Duff walk scored Long III and moved everyone else one base closer, Pitt now led 3-0. Kyle Hess came up and hit a deep sac fly to center field, scoring not only Popa from third, but also LaSala all the way from second base. There were no misplays in the Cal outfield or on the relay, LaSala simply hustled and scored from second base. The Panthers led 5-0 after six innings.
Cal immediately answer Pitt's four-spot in the sixth with a three-spot of their own in the top of the seventh. Matthew Fernandez came in to relieve Logan Evans in the middle of the top of the seventh inning. Evans finished with a final line of 6.1 IP, 10 Ks, 6 Hits, 2 ERs, and 1 BB. His 10 strikeouts are a single-game career high for him. Fernandez threw a scoreless eighth inning before Pitt brought in Nash Bryan to close it out in the ninth.
Bryan earned his 6th save of the year in yet another scoreless outing for the graduate transfer. Kyle Hess ended the game with an exclamation point as he made a leaping catch against the wall in left center for record the final out of this one.
Pitt will look to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon at 12 p.m. Kyle Mosely is projected to be on the bump for the Panthers.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Evans, Logan (3-1)
L: Paulshawn Pasqualott (2-1)
S: Bryan, Nash (6)
Batting:
2B: Carson Crawford 1
RBI: Max Handron 2 ; Nathan Manning 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Carson Crawford 1 ; Nathan Manning 1 ; Dom Souto 1
HBP: Carson Crawford 1
PO: Caleb Lomavita 1
Batting:
2B: Acal, Justin 1
RBI: Duff, Sky 1 ; Hess, Kyle 2 ; Popa, Dom 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
SF: Hess, Kyle 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Acal, Justin 2 ; Long III, Johnny 1 ; Popa, Dom 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1
CS: Duff, Sky 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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RHP
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P
/ Baseball
RHP
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INF
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C
/ Baseball
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