NOTEBOOK: Pitt Wraps Up Week One of Scrimmages
9/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Competing in the first intrasquad scrimmages of the fall, the University of Pittsburgh baseball team took part in a pair of shortened contests over the weekend, officially kicking off the fall season.
The Panthers produced five innings of play on Saturday, following that up with a two-inning outing on Sunday, which was shortened due to inclement weather.
On Saturday, redshirt junior Josh Mitchell pitched the gold team to victory, tossing 1.0 scoreless innings without surrendering a run, hit or walk, but striking out a pair. In relief, reigning ACC All-Freshman team honoree Yaya Chentouf tossed 2.0 innings of work, not allowing a run or hit, with just one walk and four strikeouts. Kevin Henriksen closed it out for the gold team, going two scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
“Josh (Mitchell) did a really nice job. He had a great summer. I rode him a little bit this summer because we did have an expectation a little bit for him and I really feel like it is something that, he has got a lot more in there and we’re trying to get that out,” said head coach Joe Jordano. “By the results that we saw on Saturday, it was pretty special. If he is able to repeat that, moving forward, he is going to be a huge help for us on the mound.”
For the gold team on offense, Jacob Wright went 2-2 with an RBI single, a double and a walk. Catcher Manny Pazos made solid contact in all three of his plate appearances, scoring on a wild pitch in the second inning after starting off his afternoon with a single.
Sophomore David Yanni recorded a pair of RBIs off of a single and a fielder’s choice.
For the blue squad, despite being unable to plate a run, freshman Zach Zientarski impressed, making direct contact in his at bats and playing a clean game defensively.
On the mound for the blue squad was Pitt’s only returning weekend starter, Josh Falk. He went two innings, allowing one earned run off of three hits and one walk, striking out a pair.
“I thought he (Josh Falk) threw some really good pitches,” added Jordano. “In that particular outing, he got squeezed maybe a little bit, but conversely, he elevated the ball a little bit as well. Again, when the pitcher elevates, we expect our offense to take advantage of that, and we did, which is a good thing. Josh is a competitor. He had a great offseason, worked extremely hard and is in great physical condition. Mentally, as I said, he competes, so I have no doubt that anytime he is on the mound, we’re going to have an opportunity to win a ballgame.”
In day two, the blue team enacted revenge, downing the gold squad in a 3-0 shutout. Executing good situational hitting, all of the blue team’s runs came from converting opportunities, noted Jordano and volunteer assistant coach Jimmy Negrych.
“I think Coach Negrych is doing a really good job making these guys understand what our approach is and being able to take that approach into a game situation,” said Jordano. “We are being very patient at the plate. I am encouraged by the younger players that have been doing a solid job at the plate. We are making good contact and are minimizing the swing and misses, and facing some good arms. There is no question that the first week has been very encouraging from an offensive perspective.”
The Panthers did the small things well in a shortened game two, making good contact, swinging at strikes and minimizing strikeouts. In addition to a big two-RBI hit from Yanni, the blue team was able to take advantage of the situation.
“It has always been a part of our game to take advantage of the baserunners that we have. We do not want to giveaway outs. Strategically, there are times where I think it is important to advance a runner and we have to be efficient in our bunt game from top to bottom. Our guys really understand the importance of that and, again, when the umpire says ‘play ball’ and we execute, that’s an encouraging sign. That’s something that, in the past, we’ve struggled with.”
On the bump in Sunday’s action, a pair of freshman put on a dual, as Christopher Gomez tossed for the gold squad, and Danny Hammer led the blue team. Gomez would allow two earned runs off of four hits, striking out one, while Hammer got into trouble early with a walk and hit batsman, but was able to work around the early setback, recording one strikeout in the outing.
Pitching coach Jerry Oakes complimented the freshman hurlers on their level of competition and was impressed with the entire pitching staff’s ability to pound the zone, a sentiment echoed by Jordano.
“I loved the competitiveness of those two,” added the skipper. “Both of them have really good arms, Christopher Gomez and Danny Hammer. Both are going to be factors for us. Both will pitch for us. Both will probably get some significant innings, so potentially we’re very young on the mound. As I told them day one, as soon as they put that uniform on, they’re no longer a freshman, they’re a part of our team. We’re trying to have a very planned and systematic approach to getting them ready mentally, physically and emotionally. We’re not going to rush it, but conversely they have the stuff to compete for us right away.”
Competitiveness is something the Panthers are not short of this season, with a potential four outfielders vying for three spots, in addition to serious competition at third base and shortstop. With freshman Kaylor Kulina and Zientarski impressing early on, the Panthers are pushing each other more and more with each practice and scrimmage.
“Any time that there is competition, if it is taken in context, it is really good. If it is perceived as adversarial, it is not good, but this team has a very clear vision that I think we defined very early, from a coaching perspective,” Jordano said. “They understand that it is going to take everybody to make this happen. We want to make a step this year. We want to elevate where we’re at and our guys clearly understand that it is going to be a collective effort, it’s not going to be one or two guys, it’s going to be all of us working together to accomplish our goals.”
Pitt will return to work on Tuesday, practicing at Charles L. Cost Field in preparation for another pair of scrimmages this weekend.
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