Pitt
25-26, 10-18-0
Duke
33-21, 14-15-0
Comeback Stopped Short in 7-5 Loss to Duke
5/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – A ninth inning comeback was cut short Friday evening as the University of Pittsburgh baseball team fell to Duke by a score of 7-5 at Charles L. Cost Field.
Pitt was able to score three in the seventh and one in the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate in the final frame, but was unable to convert as the Panthers fell to Duke in game two.
Both pitchers were solid to start the game as Pitt’s Josh Falk retired the side in order to kick things off. In the Panther half of the inning, Charles Leblanc would reach on an error as Alex Kowalczyk sent a single through the left side, but Pitt was unable to bring a runner home as the first inning wrapped up with zeros on the board.
A solo home run for the Blue Devils in the second put Duke on top 1-0 early on.
Falk would falter in the third as the Panthers surrendered five runs off of five hits and an error, putting Duke on top 6-0. A single from Zack Kone led off the inning, followed by an error charged to Charles Leblanc which put runners on first and third with just one out. Chris Proctor would triple to left center to clear the bases and plate the first two runs of the inning.
A single from Jack Labosky would follow, scoring Proctor. Justin Bellinger would double down the left field line to score Labosky and a single from Chris Perez scored Bellinger to put the Blue Devils on top 6-0.
Falk settled in in the fourth, retiring the side in order. The Panthers would put a pair on off of singles from Kowalczyk and Yanni, but couldn’t bring the runners around as Duke remained in charge.
The Blue Devils added another solo home run in the fifth to extend its lead to 7-0, but Pitt would get the run back in the bottom of the frame. An ACC-leading seventh triple from Frank Maldonado put a runner in scoring positon with one out before a groundout from Jacob Wright allowed the outfielder to score to cut the Duke lead to 7-1.
The Panthers added three more in the seventh as a double from Yanni and single from Matt Johnson put runners on the corners with one out, forcing the Blue Devils to head to the bullpen. Following the pitching change, Maldonado would double to left field to score Yanni and once again leave runners on the corners with one out. An RBI groundout from Wright scored Johnson and a single from Leblanc plated Maldonado to cut the Duke lead to 7-4.
Garrett Wrambel entered the game in the eighth and pitched an efficient two innings, retiring five of the seven batters he faced, striking out one and inducing a double play.
Trailing by three in the ninth, Pitt would get two quick outs off of back-to-back strikeouts. A two-out double from Leblanc gave the Panthers life. Alex Kowalczyk would follow with a double of his own, allowing Leblanc to cross home and cut the Blue Devils’ lead to 7-5. Pitt would be unable to bring another runner around as Duke took the game by a score of 7-5.
With the loss, Pitt falls to 25-26-0, 10-18-0 in the ACC and has been eliminated from ACC tournament contention.
The Panthers will look to prevent a Duke sweep with the series finale set for tomorrow at 11 a.m. from Charles L. Cost Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Swart, T. (4-2)
L: Falk, Josh (3-7)
S: Labosky, J. (1)
Batting:
2B: Bellinger, J 1
3B: Proctor, C. 1
HR: Labosky, J. 1 ; Bellinger, J 1
RBI: Proctor, C. 2 ; Labosky, J. 2 ; Bellinger, J 2 ; Perez, C. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Herron, J. 1 ; Proctor, C. 1 ; Labosky, J. 2 ; Bellinger, J 2 ; Kone, Z. 1
Batting:
2B: Maldonado, Frank 1 ; Leblanc, Charles 1 ; Kowalczyk, Alex 1 ; Yanni, David 1
3B: Maldonado, Frank 1
RBI: Maldonado, Frank 1 ; Wright, Jacob 2 ; Leblanc, Charles 1 ; Kowalczyk, Alex 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Maldonado, Frank 2 ; Leblanc, Charles 1 ; Yanni, David 1 ; Johnson, Matt 1
HBP: Maldonado, Frank 1
