Pitt
USF
Baseball Downs USF in Series Opener, 6-5
5/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Final Stats PITTSBURGH - Pitt baseball won its fourth straight BIG EAST game, downing USF, 6-5 Thursday night in Tampa, Fla.
Senior Kevan Smith collected four hits and drove in a run while fellow seniors David Chester and Travis Whitmore combined for six hits and four RBI.
The Panthers (32-19, 16-9 BIG EAST) fell behind early, but rallied to tie the game before scoring the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.
USF jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning on four hits including two home runs.
In the second inning, Whitmore put the Panthers on the board with a leadoff homer to right field. Chester then closed the gap to two with an RBI single to left in the third.
Pitt tied the game in the fifth inning when Smith and Chester hit back-to-back solo blasts. Smith hit his seventh homer of the season over the left field fence while Chester's shot cleared the center field wall. Chester, who entered the game leading the BIG EAST in round-trippers, hit his third in four games.
With two outs, the Bulls appeared to avoid further damage, but freshman Casey Roche reached base on a strikeout after the ball sailed passed the catcher. Whitmore, who was on second base during the at-bat, scored on the play, giving the Panthers their first lead.
The Bulls (23-29, 11-14 BIG EAST) tied the game in the bottom of the frame. After a leadoff single, the Bulls plated their fifth run on a double down the left-field line.
In the top of the seventh, Smith notched his fourth hit of the evening with a one-out double to left. After moving to third on a sacrifice fly by junior Rick Devereaux, Smith scored the deciding run on a Whitmore single through the right side.
Junior Matt Iannazzo (7-3) pitched six innings to earn his team-leading seventh victory. Sophomore Alex Caravella shut down the Bulls the rest of the way, allowing just one hit and striking out four batters in the final three innings to earn his fifth save of the season.
Pitt out-hit USF, 11-9 in the contest. The Bulls were also plagued by three errors.
With the victory and a St. John's loss earlier in the day, the Panthers now trail the Red Storm by a half-game for second place with two contests remaining. Pitt ensured at least the no. 3 seed after WVU, Louisville, Cincinnati and Notre Dame all fell on Thursday.
The Bulls dropped to ninth place after Seton Hall was victorious earlier against Georgetown.
The second game of the series continues Friday at 7 p.m. Senior Corey Baker is expected to get the start for the Panthers.
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