Pitt
Duke
Pitt Continues ACC Play, Heads to Duke
3/30/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will hit the road for a three-game tilt, traveling to Durham, N.C., for a weekend series with Duke at Durham Bulls Park.
Game one is set for Friday at 6 p.m. with the final two games of the series to follow at 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Game One
- Live Stats: GoDuke.com
- TV: ACC Network Extra
- Radio: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network
- Live Stats: GoDuke.com
- TV: ACC Network Extra
- Radio: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network
- Live Stats: GoDuke.com
- TV: ACC Network Extra
- Radio: Blue Devil IMG Sports Network
LEADING OFF
Pitt (11-11, 4-5 ACC) hits the road for a three-game series with Duke as the two teams meet in a crucial ACC showdown at Durham Bulls Park in Durham, N.C. The Panthers enter the game after a mid-week defeat at the hands of rival West Virginia as the Mountaineers captured an 8-4 win at Charles L. Cost Field under the lights Tuesday night. Prior to that the Panthers were winners of three straight as they swept ACC foe Virginia Tech at home to catapult up in the ACC standings.
Pitt will tweak its rotation a bit, as righty Matt Pidich gets the call in game one. Typically the team's Saturday starter, Pidich brings a mark of 3-1 into the game, with a 2.86 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched. He has surrendered 11 earned runs off 29 hits and 14 walks, fanning 25 and holding opponents to a .238 average. Southpaw Josh Mitchell will take the bump in game two, bringing a team-leading 1.65 ERA with a record of 1-2 for his seventh appearance of the season. Mitchell has gone 32.2 innings, allowing just six earned runs off 29 hits and 10 walks, whiffing 31 and holding batters to a .238 clip. Consistent Sunday starter Josh Falk will get the call in the finale, as the senior boasts a 2.47 ERA and a record of 2-2. Falk has seen the most work for Pitt this season, tossing 40.0 innings, surrendering 11 earned runs off 27 hits and 14 walks, fanning a team-leading 38 batters and holding opponents to just a .194 clip.
Offensively, Caleb Parry continues to pace the Panther offense, hitting a .277 average with a .410 slugging percentage and .394 on base percentage. Nick Banman leads the Panther squad with 17 RBIs, followed by Parry's 15, and joined by P.J. DeMeo (10) with double-digit RBIs. DeMeo's .456 slugging percentage leads the team, while his 12 extra base hits also leads the group. Centerfielder Frank Maldonado is expected to return to the field as the speedy redshirt junior was granted a maintenance day versus West Virginia.
SCOUTING DUKE
Duke (15-13, 4-5 ACC) enters the game after a pair of mid-week wins over Davidson and North Carolina A&T at home. The wins snapped a two-game skid as the Blue Devils fell in the final two games of the series to then 20th-ranked Virginia after claiming a win in the opener. In addition to the win over Virginia, Duke's ACC wins have come against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech (2).
Offensively, the Blue Devils are hitting at a .280 clip, with four starters above the .300 mark. Jimmy Heron leads the way with a .336 average after earning the start in all 28 games. Herron boasts 20 RBIs with 13 extra-base hits, a .536 slugging percentage, .403 on-base percentage and a mark of 9-12 in stolen base attempts. Griffin Conine leads the way with 27 RBIs and is joined by Jack Labosky (26) at the top of the Duke offense.
On the bump, the Blue Devils are expected to start a pair of lefties on Friday and Saturday and have yet to determine a Sunday starter. Mitch Stallings will get the ball on Friday, bringing a 2-2 record and 5.33 ERA into the weekend. Stallings has earned the start in five of his six contests, going 25.1 innings, allowing 15 runs off 32 hits and 11 walks, fanning 25 and allowing opponents a .308 average. Fellow southpaw Adam Laskey will get the call on Saturday, bringing a 2-2 record and an ERA of 6.59 to his seventh start. He has tossed 28.2 innings, allowing 21 earned runs off 44 hits and nine walks, striking out 28 and allowing opponents a .352 clip.
SERIES WITH DUKE
The meetings will be the 14th, 15th and 16th between the two programs in a series dating back to the 1939 season. Duke is 8-5-0 all-time, having won three straight and four of the last five. In ACC play, the two teams are tied at 4-4-0 as Pitt earned a sweep over the Blue Devils in 2014, Duke claimed two-of-three in 2015 and the Blue Devils took both games of a two-game series in 2016.
The 2016 series was cut short due to inclement weather. In the first game, Duke captured a 2-1 victory in 10 innings and followed that up with a 7-5 decision in game two before game three would be rained out.
INJURY REPORT
The Panthers suffered a tough blow at Historic Dodgertown as an injury to David Yanni will mean the shortstop will be out indefinitely. In addition to commanding the infield, Yanni was one of the only returning position players with significant starting experience as the sophomore was a consistent part of the 2016 defense at second base.
In six starts this season, Yanni hit .273 with five RBIs, drawing four walks and smacking one double.
WHO'S STREAKING
Third baseman Nick Banman leads the way with a four-game hit streak, the longest current on the Panther offense. Alex Griffith boasts a three-game mark, while Jacob Wright and Frank Maldonado each bring a one-game streak into the weekend. Caleb Parry boasts the longest of the season, at seven games, while both Nico Popa and Wright saw six-game streaks earlier this season.
Wright brings a double-digit reached-base streak into the weekend, sitting at 10 games. Banman has a nine-game streak going, while P.J. DeMeo and Yaya Chentouf sit at eight. Parry's 14 game streak was the longest of the season, while Maldonado saw an 11-game streak snapped earlier this season.
PITCHERS LEAD THE WAY
The Panther pitching staff has been stellar to start the season, ranking fourth in the ACC with a team ERA of 3.38. The starting trio of Josh Mitchell, Matt Pidich and Josh Falk have shined in their collective 18 outings, led by Mitchell's 1.65 ERA.
In the bullpen, R.J. Freure (19.0 IP), Sam Mersing (13.0 IP), Isaac Mattson (11.1 IP) and Chris Gomez (11.1 IP) have seen the most work, as Freure has been lights out in his freshman campaign. The rookie leads the bullpen with an impressive 24 strikeouts, while Mattson has recorded 14 and Mersing 11. Freure has held opponents to a .197 average and boasts a record of 3-1 in nine appearances. Mattson leads the team in saves with three, while Yaya Chentouf has recorded two.
WALKIN' INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Redshirt senior Jacob Wright continues to climb up the record books as he is now tied for fourth in all-time walks, with 91 free bases. In his three seasons with the Panthers the on-base specialist has led the team in walks each season, boasting 41 in 2015, 36 in 2016 and currently with 14 for the 2017 season.
Wright is tied with Bryan Spaner at fourth all-time, just one back of Stuart Rykaceski's third-place mark of 92. Current hitting coach Jimmy Negrych is second all-time with 107 free passes while the record is held by John Shultz, who wrapped up his career in 2011 with 142 walks.
TAKIN' ONE FOR THE TEAM (ALL-TIME)
In series finale against Siena at Historic Dodgertown, Frank Maldonado was struck by his fourth pitch of the season, becoming the all-time hit-by-pitch leader in Pitt history. In just three seasons, Maldonado has been struck 30 times, surpassing Casey Roche's mark of 27.
Last season, Maldonado was plunked 13 times, ranking third in the ACC and 68th in the NCAA.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will return to Pittsburgh for a mid-week with Penn State on April 4 as the Panthers welcome head coach Pat Narduzzi and the Pitt football team to Charles L. Cost Field. Pitt will head back on the road for three games at No. 16 Virginia the following weekend.
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