University of Pittsburgh Athletics
2/15/2024 3:35:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt Baseball team will begin its 86th season of intercollegiate play with a three-game series against Maine at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte, FL. Pitt opened up last season against Maine as well, the Black Bears won the 2023 American East Conference Championship.
Due to inclement weather predicted this weekend, Pitt and Maine will play a doubleheader on Friday afternoon starting at 12 PM ET. Game two will start approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Saturday's 1 PM matchup will be moved up to 12 PM in addition to that. All games will be streamed on flobaseball.tv
The Panthers welcomed four new coaches and 25 new student-athletes to campus this offseason, adding 14 transfers and 11 freshmen to the roster this fall. While Pitt will certainly lean on their newcomers to contribute this season, they are returning a number of key contributors from last year, who will look to do the same in 2024 both at the plate and on the mound.
Senior OF C.J. Funk is coming off of a career year last season, where he notched career highs in nearly every offensive statistical category. Funk collected 52 hits, 14 2B, 13 HR, 43 RBI, 48 runs scored and a .549 SLG %. Senior OF Dom Popa has played in 86 games throughout his Pitt career. He ended the sea- son last year by hitting solo home runs in back-to-back games in the ACC Tournament. Popa recorded two outfield assists and did not commit an error. Junior C Jayden Melendez played in 35 games behind the dish in his first year at Pitt. He had 10 HR, two 2B, 22 RBI, slugged .550. and threw out seven would-be base stealers in 2023.
Senior RHP Jack Sokol solidified himself as Pitt's Friday night starter in 2023 and started 14 games for the Panthers. He fanned 69 batters in his 68 innings of work and earned 6 wins. Sokol threw five scoreless innings and earned a win in Pitt's shutout victory over No. 2 Wake Forest. Senior RHP Matt Fernandez was a key piece out of the bullpen last season, appearing in 22 games and making two starts. He struck out 56 batters over his 52 innings. Sophomore LHP Ryan Reed allowed only one run over his six appearances as a true freshman in 2023. He struck out two batters against No. 2 Wake Forest in his collegiate debut.
The Panthers have made the ACC Tournament in each of the least three seasons, prior to Coach Bell's tenure the team achieved that feat just once.
PRESEASON RECOGNITION
• Top 50 Second Baseman: No. 16 Tyler Bischke
• Top 50 First Baseman: No. 30 Luke Cantwell
• Top 100 Outfielder: No. 68 C.J. Funk
• Top 150 Starting Pitcher: No. 132 Ryan Andrade
• Impact Freshmen: RHP Aidan Coleman, INF Ryan Zuckerman
NEW SEASON, NEW STAFF
• Head Coach Mike Bell and the Panthers ushered in a new coaching staff in 2024, hiring Brandon Romans, Chris Collazo, and Matt Gilbertson.
• Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coord. Brandon Romans comes to Pitt with 14 years of experience at the D1 level. He spearheaded one of the best offenses in the country last season at FGCU. He will coach third base for the Panthers. At the end of conference tournament play in 2023, FGCU led the nation in home runs (142) and slugging percentage (.592).
• Assistant Coach Chris Collazo spent last season at Delaware, where he helped the Blue Hens clinch a berth in their conference tournament for the first time since 2018. He will coach first base for Pitt.
• Director of Player Development Matt Gilbertson returns to Pitt after graduating in 2022. The former All-ACC and All-Region pitcher spent the past year as an assistant coach with the Las Vegas Baseball Academy and as head assistant at the University of Saint Katherine.
PORTAL PIECES
• The Panthers expect a number of their transfer pieces to factor into the team's success this season.
• INF Tyler Bischke has played in 166 games throughout his collegiate career. Last season at New Orleans he hit .309 with 54 RBI, 15 doubles, 12 HR, 73 hits and a .530 SLG % while earning all-conference, all-region and all-state honors.
• INF Luke Cantwell was a First-Team All- NEC selection last season while hitting .331 with 51 RBI, 50 hits, 14 home runs, 13 doubles, six stolen bases and a .709 slugging percentage.
• OF/C Justin Fogel was a career .470 hitter with 25 home runs, 30 doubles, and 102 runs batted in over his three years at Division III PSU Abington. Fogel led the country in batting average last year, hitting .497 while earning All-America, all-region and All-United East Player of the Year honors.
• RHP Ryan Andrade has struck out 60 batters in 57 innings over his first two years at Rhode Island. Andrade was an all-conference second-team performer last year as the team's primary closer, earning seven saves and maintaining a 4.09 ERA.
• RHP Phil Fox was an all-freshman team selection last season at Gardener-Webb. He threw 30.1 innings in his 23 appearances, earning three wins and three saves.
• RHP Richie Dell appeared in 45 games and earned 10 wins over his four-year career at Kent State. He has thrown in at least 13 games in each of the last three seasons.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
• Pitt's 326 walks ranked them 23rd in the entire country last season, setting a team single-season record.
• C.J. Funk worked a career-high 49 free passes in 2023, finishing the season 37th in the country. He sits 8th all-time in Pitt history in walks with 90.
PITT ON THE ACC NETWORK
• The Panthers are set to play four contests on the ACC Network this Spring.
• Saturday, March 30 at Virginia Tech at 4 PM
• Sunday, April 7 vs. Georgia Tech at 2 PM
• Saturday, May 4 at Notre Dame at 4 PM
• Sunday, May 5 at Notre Dame at 2 PM
