University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
5-2
Bucknell
1-6
Baran Drives in Six Runs, Panthers Run-Rule Bucknell in Home Opener, 18-3
2/25/2026 7:30:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – The bats came alive once again for the Panthers (5-2) on Wednesday afternoon as they beat the Bucknell Bison 18-3 in their home opener at Charles L. Cost Field.
Pitt's 18 runs today were their most in a game this season. The Panthers have scored 14 or more runs in three of their last five games.
Joey Baran hit a grand slam and led the Panthers with six RBIs on the afternoon, the most in his Division-I career. His grand slam was Pitt's first of the season.
AJ Nessler really got the offense going in the second inning with a solo blast to right center. Nessler went 2-2 with four runs scored, reaching and scoring in all four of his plate appearances. He leads the team in batting average (.480), total bases (21), runs scored (14) and hits (12).
Sebastian Pisacreta blasted his second home run of the season in the bottom of the third, launching an opposite-field solo shot to right. Pisacreta finished the day 2-3 with four RBIs.
Trey Fenderson had a pair of two-run hits in the win, collecting four RBIs on a single to center and a double in the gap. Kai Wagner would also drive in a pair, going 2-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
On an offensive day at the ballpark, Antonio Doganiero eliminated the Bison bats. After surrendering a run in the top of the first, Doganiero responded with three shutout innings, earning his first win of the season. The left-hander struck out three and allowed just one hit in his four innings.
Pitt responded with a three-spot in the bottom of the first on a Kai Wagner RBI single through the right side and a Trey Fenderson two-run double in the right-center gap. AJ Nessler slugged his second homer of the season in the second inning, and the Panthers led 4-1 through two.
The Panther offense exploded for 12 runs over the next two innings, starting with a five-run bottom of the third.
With one out, Sebastian Pisacreta launched his second long ball of the year over the wall in right. A Carter Dierdrof single, and walks from Jake Kendro and AJ Nessler, loaded the bases for Joey Baran who slugged Pitt's first grand slam of the year.
Kai Wagner led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single and moved up to second after Trey Fenderson worked a five-pitch walk. Sebastian Pisacreta drove both runners on a double down the left field line. Following a Dierdorf walk and a Nessler hit-by-pitch, Joey Baran delivered with the bases loaded once again. Baran lined a two-run single to right, driving in Pisacreta and Dierdorf for his fifth and sixth RBIs of the ballgame.
The Panthers weren't done in the fourth, adding three more runs after Baran's single. Kai Wagner got hit with the bases loaded, scoring Nessler, and Trey Fenderson drove in two more runs on a single to center. Pitt's seven-run inning gave them a 16-1 lead after four frames.
Bucknell got runs in the fifth and sixth innings but the Panthers scored a pair in the bottom of the sixth as they went on to win 18-3 in just seven innings. Kai Wagner drove in a run on a hit-by-pitch and Gavin Miller, in his first at-bat of the day, lined an RBI single to left.
Left-hander Chase Kriebel came out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh and worked an efficient, scoreless, inning to close it out.
Pitt has a quick turnaround as they'll get ready to host UNC Greensboro for a three-game series this weekend. Game one is set for this Friday, February 27 at 3 PM.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Doganiero, Antonio (1-0)
L: Murray, Aj (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Trommer, Michael 1
HR: Swenson, Andrew 1
RBI: Morabito, Chris 1 ; Swenson, Andrew 1 ; Chiaravallo, Michael 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Swenson, Andrew 1 ; Lagoni, Ty 1 ; Trommer, Michael 1
Batting:
2B: Fenderson, Trey 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1
HR: Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; Baran, Joey 1
RBI: Fenderson, Trey 4 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 4 ; Wagner, Kai 2 ; Miller, Gavin 1 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; Baran, Joey 6
SH: Baran, Joey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fenderson, Trey 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 2 ; Wagner, Kai 2 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 2 ; Nessler, AJ 4 ; Dierdorf, Carter 2 ; Walsh, Zach 1 ; Kendro, Jake 1 ; Baran, Joey 2 ; McAskie, Aidan 1
CS: Pisacreta, Sebastian 1
HBP: Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Wagner, Kai 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Nessler, AJ 1
