University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Youngstown State
Panthers Travel to Youngstown State for Midweek Matchup
4/3/2023 4:56:00 PM | Baseball
TOP OF THE ORDER
1. PANTHERS CLOSE FIVE-GAME ROAD TRIP AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
The Pitt baseball team (12-13, 4-6 ACC) wraps up its current five-game road trip with a visit to Niles, Ohio, to battle Youngstown State (6-20, 3-5 Horizon League) on Tuesday at Eastwood Field. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. An audio stream of the contest will be available on YSNLive.com.
2. THEY GET ON BASE
Three Panthers have three double-digit reached base streaks going. Jack Anderson leads the pack with 25 straight games while CJ Funk is close behind at 22 in a row. Sky Duff has reached base in each of the last 12 games.
3. MULTIPLYING HOMERS
Pitt has hit multiple home runs in 11 games this year, including six of the last 10 games. The Panthers have hit at least three home runs in a game three times this year, including a season-high four against Virginia Tech on March 25.
A total of eight Panthers have hit multiple home runs on the season so far, with CJ Funk (9), Noah Martinez (6), Jack Anderson (4) and Justin Acal (4) leading the way.
WALK THIS WAY
Pitt ranks 12th in the country with 168 walks on the season. Noah Martinez is seventh in the nation with 29 walks while CJ Funk is 15th in the country with 28 free passes.
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 batting average (.322), on base percentage (.479), hits and RBI (28) while tying for first in hits (29) and ranking second in slugging percentage (.611) and home runs (7).
Martinez was recently named to D1Baseball's Week 6 list of the top 50 first basemen in the country, coming in at No. 25.
OFF TO A GOOD START
Freshman AJ Nessler is off to a solid start to his collegiate career. Nessler ranks third on the team in batting average (.297) and RBI (25) and is fourth in slugging percentage (.473) and hits (27). He also leads the team with three triples. His nine multi-RBI games are tied for the team lead.
WE'VE GOT THE FUNK
CJ Funk has shown both power and patience at the plate this season. He leads Pitt with nine home runs and a .630 slugging percentage and ranks second on the team in RBI (26). His 28 walks are second on the team while his on base percentage of .443 ranks third. His nine multi-RBI games are tied for the team lead.
MILESTONE WATCH
Sky Duff owns 146 career walks, which is three shy of breaking Pitt's career record of 148 owned by David Yanni (2016-21). With 48 career doubles, he is also six shy of breaking Pitt's career record of 53 owned by John Shultz (2008-11).
This season, Duff ranks third on the team in hits (28), fourth in batting average (.272) and fifth in on base percentage (.411).
HIT PARADE
Jack Anderson is currently tied for the team lead with 29 hits on the season. He also ranks second on the squad in batting average (.305) and on base percentage (.450).
BRYAN THRIVING OUT OF BULLPEN
Nash Bryan has been an impactful arm out of the bullpen for Pitt this season. He leads the team in wins (4) and saves (2) and owns a 3.72 ERA. He has struck out 24 while giving up just eight earned runs on 15 hits and five walks over a team-high 13 appearances and 19.1 innings.
COMING IN HOT
Over the last two games, Johnny Long III is hitting a team-best .421 with a team-high eight hits - including a home run - to go along with four RBI and four runs scored.
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 44 strikeouts this season are a team high.
PANTHERS LOSE TWO OF THREE AT DUKE
Pitt dropped two of three games at Duke last weekend. After taking the series opener by a score of 13-1, the Panthers suffered losses of 11-7 and 8-0 in the final two games.
The series opener saw Jack Anderson hit two home runs and CJ Funk hit another to help muscle Pitt past Duke. 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.
FORMER PANTHER HARRIS MAKES OPENING DAY ROSTER FOR NATIONALS
Former Panther Hobie Harris made the 2023 Opening Day roster for the Washington Nationals. Harris appeared in 44 games, including two starts, in his two years with the Panthers. He struck out 81 batters in 92.0 career innings pitched. Harris was drafted in the 31st round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees with the 933rd overall pick.
Harris made his MLB debut on April 1, working one scoreless inning of relief and striking out one.
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Pitt is 37-11-1 all-time against Youngstown State. The Panthers took the last meeting from the Penguins, 9-1, on April 6, 2022.
Youngstown State won one of three games against Purdue Fort Wayne in Horizon League action this past weekend at Eastwood Field. The Penguins won a wild 15-14 affair on Saturday on a walk-off single.
UP NEXT
Pitt returns to Charles Cost Field to host Notre Dame in a three-game ACC set. Game one is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. The second game will be played Friday with a 3 p.m. first pitch. The series finale is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
