Pitt
Wofford
Panthers Head to Spartanburg for Four
3/2/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will take part in its final tune-up before ACC play gets underway, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., for a four-game weekend with Wofford, USC Upstate and Wright State.
Pitt will square off with the Terriers at Wofford on Friday at 5 p.m. before heading down the road for a doubleheader with USC Update, set to get underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The weekend will come to a close on Sunday, as the Panthers are slated for a noon start with Wright State, who is receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Poll, at Upstate.
HOW TO FOLLOW
LIVE STATS
- Game 1 vs. Wofford: SIDEARM Sports
- Game 2 vs. USC Upstate: PrestoSports
- Game 3 vs. USC Upstate: PrestoSports
- Game 4 vs. Wright State:
LEADING OFF
The University of Pittsburgh baseball team looks to build on its hot start as they head to Spartanburg, S.C. for a series against Wofford, USC Upstate, and Wright State. Pitt is set to kick off the weekend at 5 p.m. on Friday with a game against Wofford, before returning to action on Saturday at 1 p.m., for a double header against USC Upstate. Pitt will then close out the weekend against (RV) Wright State on Sunday with the two teams facing off at 12 p.m. at Upstate.
The Panthers (6-1, 0-0 ACC) enter the weekend on a five-game winning streak. Pitt is fresh off of a series sweep against Siena at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Fla. The Panthers opened the season the weekend before at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Fla., going 3-1 with a pair of wins over Delaware and a victory over reigning Big 10 Champion Ohio State. Pitt's only loss in Kissimmee came at the hands of (RV) Kansas State.
On the season, Pitt has outscored opponents 45-22 with their offense putting up big numbers. Last weekend alone, the Panthers scored 25 runs in three games on Siena. The pitching has also been solid, ranking second in the ACC with a 2.29 team ERA. In 63.0 innings, the Pitt hurlers have struck out 58 batters, holding opponents to a minuscule .214 average.
SCOUTING WOFFORD
The Terriers have stumbled early this season, coming in with a 2-6 record. They opened the season with a series against Florida A&M, going 1-2 and allowing 17 runs.
Wofford dropped contests to Presbyterian College (6-1) and grabbed a win in a three-game weekend with James Madison, Georgetown and UNC Asheville. This past Tuesday, Wofford fell to No. 20/17 Clemson, 2-9.
Sophomore Reed Massey leads the attack for the Terriers, hitting .355 on the season with 11 hits on 31 at bats. Coming in with two home runs and a slugging percentage of .545, senior Brett Hash has a lot of potential in the Terriers offense.
Junior Adam Scott is set to take the mound against the Panthers with a 12.27 ERA and a mark of 0-2.
SERIES WITH WOFFORD
This will be the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to the 2010 season. Pitt holds a 7-5-0 all-time advantage over the Terriers and has won three of the last five meetings.
Wofford claimed the last game between the two teams, a 5-3 outing in Spartanburg. Pitt took two-of-three from the Terriers in 2013, including a 19-8 victory on the road.
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
USC Upstate looks to add to their win column after their slow start (3-6, 0-0 ASUN). The Spartans have dropped their last three games, but prior to that put together a three-game winning streak. The team has scored 64 runs on the season with a batting average of .296.
The Spartans started the season at 0-3, but following that, put together a three-game winning streak. During their run, the Spartans shut out Georgetown 12-0 and put up 21 runs in a twelve-inning game against Dayton. Since then, USC Upstate has been unable to put together a win, falling in their last three games.
The Spartans are averaging over seven runs per game this season with four players hitting above .300. The offense is led by junior Charlie Carpenter, who has been on a tear this season is hitting a .474 clip with a slugging percentage of .763.
Both, Kevin Hickey and Connor Campbell are set to pitch against Pitt this weekend. Hickey comes in at 1-1 with a 3.09 ERA and Campbell brings in an impressive 1.64 ERA without a loss on the season.
SERIES WITH USC UPSTATE
The doubleheader will be the third and fourth meetings between the two squads in a series dating back to the 2014 season. Pitt has claimed both wins in the series history, both at USC Upstate.
In February of 2014, Pitt took the inaugural game by a score of 5-2 and followed that up a year later with a 10-4 victory.
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE
Wright State has started the season strong with a 4-4 record and wins over nationally ranked Clemson and South Carolina. The Raiders have held opponents to 42 runs while scoring 46 so far on the season and are receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Poll.
Wright State took two of three games against the reigning ACC Champion Clemson Tigers to start the season on a high note before taking one of three against the then fourth-ranked Gamecocks. This past week, the Raiders split a series against Gardner-Webb in which Wright State scored eight runs in each game.
As a team, the Raiders are hitting .247, but has three players batting over .300 on the season. The offense is led by Seth Gray who has an average of .379 with a slugging percentage of .621 and seven RBIs in eight games.
On the mound, the Raiders have been allowing an average of 4.74 runs a game, and have not yet named a starter for Sunday's matchup.
SERIES WITH WRIGHT STATE
The Sunday afternoon outing will be the fifth meeting between the two programs in a series dating back to the 1983 season. The game will break a 2-2 tie in the all-time record as Pitt enters the weekend winners of the last two over the Raiders.
Wright State claimed the opening two games in the 1983 season and the two programs met again in 1999. Pitt took both games in the 1999 season.
WHO'S STREAKING
Freshman outfielder Nico Popa brings the longest hit-streak into the weekend, as it stands at six. Manny Pazos, David Yanni, P.J. DeMeo and Caleb Parry all boast three-game marks, while Alex Griffith and Nick Banman sit at two.
Frank Maldonado boasts the longest reached-base streak of any Panther hitter, successfully reaching in 12 straight games, extending into last season. Parry and Popa each have reached in seven straight, with Yanni and Banman close behind at six.
UP NEXT
Pitt will head to Louisville to take on the nationally-ranked Cardinals in a three-game series to kick off conference play starting on March 10. Following the three-game series, the Panthers will make their home debut on March 14 in the first of a two-game midweek tilt with Saint Peter's.
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