Pitt
Youngstown State
Pitt Readies to Host Youngstown State, Visit Kent State
4/9/2023 7:23:00 PM | Baseball
PANTHERS OPEN WEEK WITH PAIR OF OHIO OPPONENTS
The Pitt baseball team (14-15, 5-8 ACC) will open the week by battling a pair of opponents from the state of Ohio. The Panthers will play host to Youngstown State (6-24, 3-8 Horizon League) on Monday at 5 p.m. at Charles Cost Field, then head to northeast Ohio to take on Kent State (21-10, 9-3 MAC) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium.
Pitt vs. Youngstown State | Monday, April 10 | 5 p.m. | Charles Cost Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.
ACC Network Extra | StatBroadcast
Pitt at Kent State | Tuesday, April 11 | 6 p.m. | Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium | Kent, Ohio
Live Stats
PITT BATTLES BACK TO TAKE SERIES FINALE FROM NOTRE DAME
Pitt dropped the first two games of its ACC series against Notre Dame last weekend at Charles Cost Field, losing the first two games by scores of 10-8 and 11-2. In the Saturday series finale, Pitt scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to overcome the Fighting Irish, 9-5.
The Panthers faced a 5-2 deficit heading into the bottom of the seventh. Noah Martinez drew a two-out walk and later scored on a base hit to right by Kyle Hess to make it a two-run ballgame.
Nash Bryan then struck out a pair of Notre Dame batters in the top of the eighth, including a punch out that came after a single by the Fighting Irish put a runner on with two outs.
Pitt kicked its rally into full gear in the home half of the eighth. Making his first collegiate start, Caleb Sturtevant got it started with a two-out double down the left field line. Sky Duff then coaxed a walk, the 149th of his Pitt tenure to set the program's new career record. Brett Heckert followed with a pinch-hit single to left that scored Sturtevant and cut the deficit to one for the Panthers. Martinez then tied the game with a single to right that plated Duff. Pitt wasn't done yet, however, as Jack Anderson blasted a three-run home to center to put the Panthers in front. Hess then followed with a homer to right, giving Pitt a four-run advantage going into the ninth.
Bryan then locked down the victory for Pitt by getting the Fighting Irish to ground into a double play after a leadoff single and then inducing a game ending fly out to center after Notre Dame had put a runner on base by way of a Pitt error.
Four Panthers put together multi-hit efforts in the victory. Martinez posted a 3-for-4 afternoon that included a double, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Hess collected three hits, including a double and his third home run of the season, to go along with two RBI and two runs scored. Funk added a single to go along with his home run, and Sturtevant recorded the first multi-hit game of his career by finishing 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
On the mound, Logan Evans gave Pitt a strong start, striking out four over 6.1 innings. Bryan then worked 2.2 scoreless frames of relief and struck out three on his way to his fifth pitching win of the season, improving to 5-2 on the year.
FAMILIAR FOES
The Panthers have already played and beaten both Youngstown State and Kent State this season.
Last Tuesday, Jayden Melendez and Sky Duff each hit two-run home runs to highlight a 13-7 road victory for Pitt over Youngstown State at Eastwood Field. Eight of the nine hitters in Pitt's lineup collected a hit in the victory, with Kyle Hess leading the way by way of a 2-for-5 performance that included a triple, two RBI, a walk and a run scored. CJ Funk, Justin Acal and Anthony LaSala each collected a double to help the Panthers tally six extra-base knocks on the day. Pitt amassed 14 walks in the win, with Jack Anderson coaxing four of them and Funk drawing three. On the mound, Erubiel Candelario gave Pitt five strong scoreless innings of relief, tallying seven strikeouts while permitting just two hits and three walks. He earned the victory to improve to 2-0 on the year.
CJ Funk, AJ Nessler and Jack Anderson provided Pitt with three home runs en route to an 8-3 victory over Kent State on March 22 at Charles Cost Field. Holden Phelps gave Pitt a strong start on the mound, striking out four in three innings of work. Funk led Pitt's bats with a 2-for-2 effort that included a pair of extra-base hits, two walks and three runs scored.
THEY GET ON BASE
Four Panthers have three double-digit reached base streaks going. Jack Anderson leads the pack with 29 straight games while CJ Funk is close behind at 26 in a row. Sky Duff has reached base in each of the last 16 games while Kyle Hess has achieved the feat in 11 straight games.
MULTIPLYING HOMERS
Pitt has hit multiple home runs in 15 games this year, including 10 of the last 14 games and four in a row. 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 186 walks on the season. CJ Funk is fourth in the nation with 33 walks while Noah Martinez is 10th in the country with 30 free passes and Jack Anderson is 43rd with 26.
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 (34) and on base percentage (.468) and is tied for the team lead in RBI (32) while ranking second in batting average (.318), home runs (7) and walks (32) and fourth in slugging percentage (.570).
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 RBI (28) and fifth in hits (29). His 10 multi-RBI games rank second on the team.
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 .679 slugging percentage and is tied for the team lead with 32 RBI. His 31 walks lead the team while his on base percentage of .465 ranks second. His 11 multi-RBI games are a team high.
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. With 50 career doubles, he is also four shy of breaking Pitt's career record of 53 owned by John Shultz (2008-11).
This season, Duff is third on the team in hits (31) 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 ranks second on the team in hits (32), third in batting average (.302) and on base percentage (.464), tied for third in home runs (5), fourth in RBI (24) and fifth in slugging percentage (.472).
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 .324 batting average and ranks third in slugging percentage (.592) and fifth in on base percentage (.417). His three triples are tied with AJ Nessler for the team lead.
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 (5) and saves (2) and owns a 3.27 ERA. He has struck out 27 while giving up just eight earned runs on 18 hits and five walks over a team-high 14 appearances and 22 innings.
UP NEXT
Pitt heads to Charlottesville, Va., this weekend to take on Virginia in an ACC series.
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