Pitt
11-12, 4-6
Duke
16-13, 5-5
Panthers Stopped by Duke on the Road
3/31/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
DURHAM, N.C. - The University of Pittsburgh baseball team fell in the opening game of a weekend series at Duke, dropping a 14-0 decision to the Blue Devils at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, N.C.
"This is one that we need to put behind us as quickly as possible," said head coach Joe Jordano. "Matt [Pidich] was pitching well, but we misplayed two bunts that led to a crooked number in the sixth and that was it. It was a 1-0 ballgame at that point. We had a few opportunities, offensively, early on, but did not convert.
"Obviously, credit goes to Duke for a well-played game on its end. They took advantage of every opportunity, swung the bats very well, played clean and pitched well. We need to move forward and prepare ourselves to try and even the series tomorrow."
The Blue Devils struck first, taking an early lead in the first off a pair of singles. A leadoff single to center from Jimmy Herron kicked things off, as the center fielder would move to second on a groundout. Griffin Conline brought Herron home as Duke took a 1-0 lead.
Pitt starter Matt Pidich would settle down following the initial inning, retiring 14 straight Duke batters from the final two outs of the first until getting into a jam in the sixth. A leadoff double to left center by Max Miller got the inning going for the Blue Devils as back-to-back errors charged to Pidich allowed a man to score to give Duke a 2-0 lead. A walk to Conline loaded the bases with no outs before a double down the left field line from Jack Labosky would give the Blue Devils a 4-0 advantage.
A single to right dropped in off the bat of Michael Smiciklas as another run would come across and the Blue Devils would go on top 5-0. Chris Gomez would come in relief of Pidich, inheriting a 2-0 count and no outs to Peter Zyla. The freshman would get Zyla to ground into a double play as Caleb Parry and P.J. DeMeo would catch Smiciklas in a rundown.
Duke would score five more in the seventh and four in the eighth to take a 14-0 win in game one of the series.
With the loss, Pitt falls to 11-12, 4-6 ACC. Pidich drops to 3-2 on the year.
The Panthers will return to action tomorrow as first pitch of game two is set for 1 p.m.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stallings, M (3-2)
L: Pidich, Matt (3-2)
Base Running:
SB: Amos, Alex 1
Batting:
2B: Labosky, J. 1 ; Bellinger, J 1 ; Miller, M. 1
HR: Herron, J. 1 ; Conine, G. 1
RBI: Herron, J. 3 ; Kone, Z. 2 ; Conine, G. 5 ; Labosky, J. 2 ; Smiciklas, M 1 ; Miller, M. 1
SH: Herron, J. 1 ; Kone, Z. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Herron, J. 4 ; Kone, Z. 2 ; Conine, G. 2 ; Bellinger, J 1 ; Proctor, C. 1 ; Dutra, C. 1 ; Miller, M. 3
