University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
4-1
Cal State Bakersfield
3-4
Spizzoucco Throws Seven Scoreless as Pitt Shuts Out Cal State Bakersfield, 14-0
2/21/2026 8:00:00 PM | Baseball
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – The Pitt Panthers improved to 4-1 on the season, and 2-0 in the Kleberg Bank College Classic, with a 14-0 shutout of Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday afternoon.
In a game where the Panther offense scored 14 runs, Vincent Spizzoucco stole the show on the mound. The left-hander dazzled in his second start of the season, allowing just two base runners over seven scoreless innings. He would go on to strike out six batters throughout those seven innings.
He's the first Panther to throw seven shutout innings since Ryan Reed did against Miami on April 7th of last year. It's Pitt's first shutout victory since April 30, 2025, when they shutout Akron 11-0.
Eight of Pitt's nine starters all recorded a hit. Lorenzo Carrier hit his first home run of the season and drove in four runs in the win this afternoon. His outfield counterpart Julian Irizarry, who is now hitting .500 on the year, went 2-2 with two RBIs and two walks today. Caden Dulin joined Irizarry in going 2-2 with two RBIs and two walks while he scored a season-high three runs. Pitt leadoff man AJ Nessler continued to produce, going 1-4 with and RBI.
The Panther bats were hot out of the gate this afternoon, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. AJ Nessler and Caden Dulin each worked walks to lead off the game and set up Pitt's offense. After both were moved up into scoring position on a groundout, Lorenzo Carrier drove them in on a two-run single to left.
Pitt extended their lead in the top of the third with a Caden Dulin sacrifice fly to right field. Julian Irizarry and AJ Nessler each singled to lead off the frame and moved up a base on a wild pitch. With Irizarry now at third, Dulin was able to drive him in on a fly ball to right-center. Vincent Spizzoucco worked another scoreless inning in the bottom of the third and the Panthers led by three through three.
Sebastian Pisacreta lined a two-out double off the right field wall, putting himself in scoring position in the top of the fourth inning. Following a Jackson Cooke walk, Julian Irizarry extended Pitt's lead to four by driving in Pisacreta from second.
The Panthers added three more runs in the top of the fifth inning as they grabbed a 7-0 lead. Lorenzo Carrier launched his first home run of the season on a two-run shot to right. Joey Baran worked a walk in the following at-bat and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With Baran now in scoring position, Trey Fenderson would drive him in on a single to left and extend Pitt's lead to seven.
Spizzoucco continued to deal on the mound for Pitt, allowing just one base runner through his now five scoreless innings.
Pitt continued to add to their lead, exploding for a five-run top of the seventh inning. Two hit-by-pitches and a walk loaded the bases for Julian Irizarry who also worked a walk that brought home Joey Baran. AJ Nessler grounded an RBI fielder's choice to third that scored Pisacreta from third but nabbed Irizarry at second, making it a 9-0 ballgame.
With runners now on the corners, Caden Dulin laced an RBI double to left that would score Jackson Cooke and move Nessler all the way to third. Two pitches later, Kai Wagner drove in two runs of his own on a single to right and the Panthers led 12-0 in the seventh.
Vincent Spizzoucco finished his day with a 1-2-3 seventh inning, capping off his seven shutout-inning performance.
Anthony LaSala logged his first hit and RBI of the season in the top of the ninth inning, driving in Pitt's final two runs of the ballgame as they went on to beat the Roadrunners 14-0.
The Panthers have one final game at Whataburger Field this weekend against the host school Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. RHP Drew Lafferty gets the start on the mound for Pitt. He struck out seven batters in his first start of the year last Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Spizzoucco , Vincent (1-0)
L: McAlinden, Shane (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Dulin, Caden 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1
HR: Carrier, Lorenzo 1
RBI: Fenderson, Trey 1 ; Wagner, Kai 2 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; LaSala, Anthony 1 ; Dulin, Caden 2 ; Irizarry, Julian 2 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 4
SF: Dulin, Caden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Nessler, AJ 2 ; Baran, Joey 2 ; Dulin, Caden 3 ; McAskie, Aidan 1 ; Irizarry, Julian 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 2 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Cooke, Jackson 2
HBP: Baran, Joey 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Cooke, Jackson 1
