Pitt
Penn State
Pitt Prepares for Pair of Mid-Week Outings
4/17/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Pitt Game Notes
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh baseball team resumes action with a pair of mid-week contests, wrapping up home-and-home series with Penn State and Kent State, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pitt will travel to State College, Pa., Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. meeting with the Nittany Lions before returning to Charles L. Cost Field Wednesday in a 6 p.m. tilt with the Golden Flashes.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Pitt at Penn State
- Live Stats: GameTracker
- Live Stats: GameTracker
- TV: ACC Network Extra
LEADING OFF
Pitt (15-17, 7-11 ACC) will take part in a pair of mid-week contests, traveling to Penn State (12-23, 1-8 BIG 10) on Tuesday before hosting Kent State (19-12, 7-2 MAC) in the second of a home-and-home with the Golden Flashes on Wednesday. The outings will be the first back-to-back mid-week contests of the season for the Panthers who are coming off a series loss to Miami at Charles L. Cost Field. Last weekend, Pitt opened the three-game tilt with Miami by capturing a 10-3 victory in the first game of a doubleheader, before falling to the Hurricanes 1-0 in game two. Pitt dropped the series on Saturday, falling to the reigning ACC Coastal Division Champion 5-3 in the finale.
Offensively, Pitt's bats came alive in the weekend series with Miami, smacking 26 hits in three games, including two double-digit performances. Five Panthers hit at the .300 mark or above, led by senior catcher Manny Pazos, who went .400 on the weekend with four hits in 10 at bats, including a double and RBI. Caleb Parry and Nico Popa each recorded three RBIs, with Popa hitting at a .300 clip, including a .500 slugging percentage with a triple and walk.
Josh Mitchell will get the start for the Panthers against Penn State as the southpaw brings a mark of 1-3 and a 3.89 ERA into the outing. Mitchell has tossed 44.0 innings this season, allowing 19 earned runs off 48 hits and 15 walks, fanning 37 batters. Pitt's Wednesday starter against Kent State has yet to be determined.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions have struggled through the first half of the 2017 season, bringing a 12-23 overall record and a mark of 1-8 in BIG 10 play into the outing. Penn State is coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of Maryland on the road last weekend, and has dropped six of the last seven outings. Penn State's last win came in a 5-3 victory over Bucknell on April 12.
Jordan Bowersox leads the Nittany Lion offense, as the only batter over the .300 mark. Bowersox has hit .333 in his 33 games, recording 18 RBIs in addition to seven doubles, one triple and three homers. He leads the team in slugging percentage (.480) and on base percentage (.418) and has swiped a team-high nine bases on 13 attempts. Willie Burger leads the squad with 22 RBIs in 24 games.
Penn State will toss righty Schuyler Bates for the second time against the Panthers this season. Bates brings in a mark of 1-2 with a 4.10 ERA into the outing. He has thrown 26.1 innings, allowing 12 earned runs off 20 hits and 10 walks, fanning 14. Against Pitt earlier this season, Bates earned a loss after going 6.1 innings, surrendering two earned runs off five hits without giving up a walk or fanning a batter.
SERIES WITH PENN STATE
This will be the 101st all-time meeting between the two programs in a series dating back to the 1939 season. The Nittany Lions hold a 69-30-1 all-time advantage in the series and have won four of the last five meetings.
Earlier this year, Pitt captured a 3-2 victory in front of a raucous crowd at Charles L. Cost Field. Freshman Dan Hammer earned the win with Isaac Mattson grabbing the save. A two-run seventh inning lifted the Panthers over the Nittany Lions as an RBI single from Alex Amos and an error on the Penn State shortstop propelled Pitt to the win.
SCOUTING KENT STATE
Kent State will take on Youngstown State in a Tuesday night battle before visiting Charles L. Cost Field on Wednesday. After a MAC series win over Northern Illinois last weekend, Kent State improved to 19-12 overall and 7-2 in conference play. The series win over Norther Illinois snapped a three-game slide for the Golden Flashes as they had suffered defeats by Youngstown State, Ohio State and Bowling Green in mid-week action.
Offensively, Kent State has been spectacular, ranking 16th in the nation with a team average of .311. Four consistent starters rank above the .300 mark as Kent State has seven total players hitting at .300 or above. Luke Burch leads the way with an average of .403, which ranks 20th in the country. Burch has recorded 15 RBIs with 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs, adding a team-high .581 slugging percentage and .462 on base percentage. Dylan Rosa leads the squad with 26 RBIs, while Tim Dalporto (23) and Dom Iero (20) each boast 20 or more RBIs.
Kent State's pitcher has yet to be determined. When the two squads last met, Robert Zeigler got the start, earning a no decision after going 5.0 innings, allowing one unearned run off three hits and two walks, fanning five.
SERIES WITH KENT STATE
This will be the 65th all-time meeting between the Panthers and Golden Flashes in a series dating back to the 1951 season. Kent State holds a 37-27-0 all-time advantage, but the Panthers have won two of the last three meetings.
Earlier this year, the Golden Flashes claimed a 7-6 victory on their home field as a four-run seventh inning sent the home team to a victory. Chris Gomez earned the loss as the Pitt offense smacked eight hits on the evening, led by a 2-4 performance from Caleb Parry and a three-RBI night for freshman Alex Amos.
WHO'S STREAKING
Manny Pazos and David Yanni bring the Panthers' longest hit-streaks into the contests, each sitting a three. Jacob Wright carries in a two-game mark, while Caleb Parry, Nico Popa, Alex Amos and Yaya Chentouf each begin new streaks at one. Parry boasts the longest mark of the season, as he saw a seven-game streak snap earlier this year.
Yanni boasts the longest active reached base streak, at six, while Amos sits at four and Wright, Chentouf and Pazos each boast three. Frank Maldonado saw the longest streak of the season, at 15, while Parry (14), Wright (13) and Chentouf (11) each strung together double-digit marks.
INSIDE THE ACC STANDINGS
After the weekend with Miami, Pitt sits in a tie for fourth in the Coastal Division, as the Panthers, Virginia Tech and Duke each sit at 7-11 in conference action. North Carolina (14-4) paces the Coastal, while Virginia (10-8) sits in second and Miami (9-9) holds at third.
In the overall standings, Pitt is in a tie for ninth with Virginia Tech, Duke and Notre Dame. Louisville is the overall leader (15-3), followed by Clemson (14-3) and North Carolina (14-4).
UP NEXT
The Panthers will return to Charles L. Cost Field for a three-game test with No. 4 North Carolina April 21-23. Pitt will continue its homestand the following weekend, hosting SIU-Edwardsville April 29 and 30.
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