Pitt Outpaces Georgia Tech, 8-6, to Even Series

Saturday, May 9

Atlanta, Ga.

1:00 PM

Pitt

17-30, 7-19

Georgia Tech

31-18, 12-14

Pitt

Georgia Tech

Pitt Outpaces Georgia Tech, 8-6, to Even Series

5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 9, 2015

Box Score | Season Stats | Highlight Reel

ATLANTA --  Putting up 14 hits for the first time since March 18, the University of Pittsburgh baseball team (17-30, 7-19 ACC) rode a major offense outburst to victory as it knocked off Georgia Tech (31-18, 12-14 ACC), 8-6, to even the series at Russ Chandler Stadium on Saturday.

"I think we were really aggressive early in the counts and did a great job with runners in scoring position," said head coach Joe Jordano. "When you have opportunities to score, you have to score. Overall, I was very pleased with how we were aggressive and really created opportunities for ourselves."

The victory snaps a five-game losing streak, and marks the first conference victory for the team since April 12 vs. Wake Forest.

Junior Alex Kowalczyk was 4-for-5 with two doubles, scored three times, and drove in two. The effort matched his career high in hits.

Junior Ron Sherman finished the day 3-for-4 and matched his career best with four RBIs. With his bases-loaded, two-out double, Sherman improved to 2-for-2 on the year when batting with the bases loaded and has a double and a triple to his name en route to collecting five RBIs in that spot.

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Wright walked in the second and singled in the fourth to extend his reached-base streak to a team-best 34 games. He has reached base at a .500 clip over his last 10 games -- all coming from the leadoff spot. Wright is batting .306 (26-for-85) against ACC pitching this season.

Pitt's starter, junior Marc Berube (2-7, 4.87) turned in a gutsy 5.2 innings performance, scattering six hits, a walk, and four earned runs while striking out one. He induced two key double plays to limit Georgia Tech's success at the dish.

Opposite of Berube, the Yellow Jackets' Ben Parr (6-3, 3.99) took the loss when the Panthers chased him after 2.2 innings, surrendering three earned runs, three walks, and striking out three.

The Panthers struck first for the second time this series. Five consecutive Pitt batters reached in the frame thanks to alternating hits and walks. It was ultimately junior Ron Sherman that dealt the blow in the inning with a two-run double to give Pitt the early lead.

Georgia Tech evened the scales, 2-2, in the home half of the second. A hit batter and a base knock were cashed in on by a two-run single from Ryan Peurifoy.

Pitt recaptured the lead, 3-2, in its half of the third after Kowalczyk doubled and came around to score. Sherman added his second hit of the game before senior Jordan Frabasilio plated Sherman on an RBI single up the middle.

The Panthers stretched that lead all the way to 8-2 with a big offensive showing in the sixth. Sophomore Manny Pazos kicked off the frame with an opposite field single to right center field. Freshman Charles LeBlanc then walked to reach for the third time on the day, and senior Boo Vazquez singled up the middle for the 199^th hit of his career -- scoring Pazos. A double from Kowalczyk followed suit to bring home Leblanc and Vazquez both, as the backstop thumped his second two-bagger of the day to give Pitt a 6-2 lead. Sherman later added the second two-run hit of the inning on a single to push the lead to 8-2.

The Yellow Jackets began to chip away at Pitt's lead immediately. The home team scored two runs in both of the next two innings, combining for six hits and two walks, to reduce the Panthers' lead to 8-6, where it would remain.

Senior Hobie Harris recorded two outs after taking over for Berube in the sixth, and junior Rich Condeelis entered the game in the seventh. The righty neatly handled a multi-inning save opportunity, firing 2.2 innings of one-hit relief, walking and striking out one to earn his first career save. It is the first save recorded by the Panthers since March 13 vs. North Carolina.

The series finale is set for tomorrow at 1 p.m.