Pitt
Siena
Panthers Head Back to Florida to Face Siena
2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will travel back to the Sunshine State for the second consecutive week, heading to Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., for a three-game tilt with the Saints of Siena.
Pitt will face off with the Saints in a single game on Friday at 3 p.m. before battling in a doubleheader on Saturday with game one set for 1 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Live Stats:
- Game 1: GameTracker
- Game 2: GameTracker
- Game 3: GameTracker
LEADING OFF
The Pitt baseball team looks to continue the success of its three-win Opening Weekend, traveling to Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla., for a three-game series with Siena. Pitt will host the Saints in a single game on Friday at 3:30 p.m. before returning to the diamond for a doubleheader set to get underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The Panthers (3-1, 0-0 ACC) are fresh off an encouraging Opening Weekend in Kissimmee, Fla., as Pitt collected three wins at Osceola Heritage Park. With a 5-3 victory over Delaware on Opening Day, the Panthers claimed their fifth-straight Opening Day win, and would go on to defeat Ohio State and Delaware for a second time, suffering their only loss in a ninth-inning heartbreaker to Kansas State.
Pitt outscored its opponents by a mark of 19-12 on the weekend, as the pitchers dominated opening play, stifling the Blue Hens, Wildcats and reigning Big 10 Champion Buckeyes.
SCOUTING SIENA
The Saints have struggled to open the season, competing to an 0-4 mark (record does not include the Thursday night scheduled contest between Siena and Stetson). Opening the season in Orlando at the University of Central Florida, the Saints were swept, The Knights outscored Siena by a mark of 27-8 in the three contests.
Siena moved on to face Stetson in a two-game mid-week series, dropping the Tuesday night outing by a mark of 9-0. Wednesday's contest was postponed due to rain and will be made up at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Nico Ramos leads the way for the Saints' offense, though he has only recorded four at bats. With three hits, including a solo homerun, and a perfect slugging percentage, he's also drawn a walk, but just one strikeout. Max Goione (.375) and Dan Swain (.357) are more consistent at the top of the offense, each with at least eight at bats.
On the bump, the Saints' rotation took a hit with the long week of action, as Chris Amorosi is the only starting pitcher announced for the series. Amorosi will get the call on Sunday after pitching four innings of work against the Knights, allowing two runs (one earned) off two hits and three walks, adding three strikeouts
SERIES WITH SIENA
The three-game series will be the first meetings between the two programs.
HURLER'S GONNA HURL
The Panther pitching staff was dominant on Opening Weekend and rank second in the ACC through one week of play. With a team ERA of just 2.00, Pitt sits just behind Virginia Tech (1.33 ERA) in the conference's pitching rankings. As a staff, the Panthers allowed just eight earned runs in 36.0 innings pitched, surrendering the scores off 26 hits and 10 walks and ringing up 30 batters.
All four of Pitt's starters went at least 6.0 innings, as three Panthers made their first start in a Pitt jersey. On Opening Day, Matt Pidich tossed 6.0 innings of work, allowing one earned run off three hits and two walks, striking out four. Against Kansas State, Josh Mitchell made his first career start, going 7.0 innings without allowing a run, giving up just three hits and one walk and adding three strikeouts. Pitt's only returning starter, Josh Falk, got the call against Ohio State, tossing 8.0 innings, allowing just one earned run off three hits and three walks, fanning seven. Freshman Dan Hammer made his collegiate debut in the series finale against Delaware, working 7.0 innings without surrendering an earned run, allowing just three hits and one walk, striking out seven.
MALDA-DOUBLE
Redshirt junior Frank Maldonado picked up right where he left off, as Pitt got the 2017 season underway, once again leading the Panthers in the batter's box. Maldonado hit a cool .353 clip, second highest on the team behind freshman Alex Amos (.417). The Short Hills, N.J., native led the team in extra-base hits, tallying four doubles on the weekend, including a three-double performance against Kansas State. In addition, Maldonado added two RBIs and was hit by a pitch, leading the Panthers with a .588 slugging percentage.
Maldonado's four two-baggers ranks third in the nation, as UTSA's Kevin Markham leads the NCAA with seven. As a team, the Panthers rank 10th in the nation with 13 doubles. New Orleans paces the NCAA with 20.
MISTER 100
Sunday's finale of the Sunshine State Classic was a memorable one for redshirt senior Jacob Wright as the outfielder made his 100th start in a Panther uniform, as Pitt knocked off Delaware 5-3.
Wright, who transferred to the University of Pittsburgh prior to the start of the 2015 season from St. Petersburg Community College, has been a staple in the Panthers' lineup. Wright is a reached-base specialist, steadily leading off the Pitt batting order.
DON'T LEAVE EM' BEHIND
The Panthers found ways to come away with victories over the weekend in Kissimmee, Fla, despite struggling plating runners. Pitt left 37 runners on base over the four-game weekend, compared to just 24 from their four opponents. Pitt was able to fire off 33 hits, 23 walks and four hit by pitches, in addition to six opponent errors; however, just 19 Pitt runs came across.
WHO'S STREAKING
Freshman Nico Popa and redshirt senior Jacob Wright boast the longest hit streaks, each with three-game marks. Freshman Alex Amos hit a three-game mark in the first three outings of the weekend, but saw his streak snapped in the series finale against Delaware.
Frank Maldonado has the longest reached-base streak, sitting at nine games, dating back to the 2016 season. David Yanni brings an eight-game reached base streak over from last season, while Caleb Parry carries a five-game mark.
UP NEXT
Pitt will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. for the USC Upstate Tournament, taking on Wofford, USC Upstate and Wright State to open the month of March. The following week will kick off ACC play as Pitt gets right into the thick of things, traveling to nationally-ranked Louisville for a three-game tilt.
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