Panthers Conclude Regular Season With Series Against Louisville
5/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2012
Senior Interviews: Anthony DeFabio | Rick Devereaux | Matt Iannazzo
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt baseball team wraps up regular season play with three home games against Louisville, beginning Thursday at Charles L. Cost Field. The teams will finish the BIG EAST series with games on Friday and Saturday.
The Panthers enter play with the nationally-ranked Cardinals just one game back of the final spot in the BIG EAST Tournament. Villanova currently sits in eighth-place and will play three games against Rutgers, while Georgetown is tied with Pitt in ninth and will take on last-place Cincinnati.
It will be the final home series for three Pitt seniors, all of which have been instrumental in the team’s success. Matt Iannazzo, the program’s record holder for career wins, will pitch his last home game for the Panthers on Thursday, while Anthony Defabio and Rick Devereaux, both two-year members of the program, will play in their final three games at the Petersen Sports Complex. DeFabio is currently the team leader in on-base percentage, while Devereaux leads the team in average, RBI, and home runs.
The Pitt players and coaching staff know they have their work cut out for them in the final series of the season as they will go against the second-place team in the conference. The Cardinals have also shown their ability on the national level, twice beating Kentucky when the Wildcats were ranked No. 1 in the nation, outscoring them 22-2 in the two wins.
But, Pitt has shown an ability to beat top teams as well. Included in the Panthers’ 27 wins this season are victories over Kent State (first-place in the MAC) and Coastal Carolina (first-place in the Big South and nationally-ranked at the time).The Panthers are also coming off wins in two of their last three series.
The series between Pitt and Louisville will feature two of the top hitters in the conference – Devereaux for the Panthers and Stewart Ijames for the Cardinals. Devereaux is third in the BIG EAST in average (.371), first in hits (78) second in RBI (54), seventh in slugging (.552), seventh in on-base percentage (.435), and sixth in home runs (7). Ijames leads in RBI (59) and is second in home runs (12).
Devereaux and Ijames aren’t the only players in the lineup the Pitt and Louisville pitchers will have to worry about. Louisville stands out as the top offensive team in the conference, leading in average, slugging, on-base, runs scored and RBI. The Panthers aren’t far behind, posting top-five numbers in average, slugging, on-base and hits.
Thursday’s game will start at 6 p.m. and will be aired on Panthers All-Access.