Friday, February 22
Spartanburg, SC
4 PM
Pitt
at
USC Upstate
Panthers Prepare for Three at Wofford-USC Upstate Tournament
2/21/2019 3:07:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt to Face USC Upstate, Radford, Bucknell in Spartanburg, S.C.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will hit the road for three, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., for the Wofford-USC Upstate Tournament.
The Panthers (1-3, 0-0 ACC) are set to meet USC Upstate, Radford and Bucknell, marking the third straight season in which Pitt has participated in the tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW
SCOUTING RADFORD
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The Panthers (1-3, 0-0 ACC) are set to meet USC Upstate, Radford and Bucknell, marking the third straight season in which Pitt has participated in the tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live Stats
- Game 1 vs. USC Upstate
- Game 2 vs. Radford
- Game 3 vs. Bucknell
- USC Upstate Tournament Central.
- Fans can follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Pitt (1-3, 0-0 ACC) continues the opening of its 2019 season at the Wofford-USC Upstate Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C. The Panthers will meet USC Upstate Friday, followed by a meeting with Radford Saturday before closing out the tournament Sunday against Bucknell. All three games will be played at Harley Park on the campus of USC Upstate.
- The Panthers struggled offensively on opening weekend, managing just 26 hits, tallying a .208 team average. While the team struggled to connect, the Panthers showed promise working the count, generating 35 walks. Of those 35 free bases, eight came from freshman Sky Duff, who leads the league through one week in walks. Senior Connor Perry paced the Pitt offense on the weekend, hitting at a .444 clip with two doubles and his first career home run, drawing two walks. Senior Cole MacLaren hit .417 on the weekend, posting a team-best three doubles and three RBI.
- Ace Dan Hammer will take the mound on Friday against USC Upstate, looking to continue on his strong start to the season. On Opening Day, Hammer threw 5.1 innings without allowing a walk, surrendering just two runs off four hits, fanning eight. Saturday and Sunday's starters have yet to be announced. Following Hammer's stellar start, junior transfer Christian Camacho, freshman Billy Corcoran and sophomore Chris Cappas all earned starts on the weekend.
- USC Upstate (2-2, 0-0 Big South) got the 2019 campaign underway with a four-game home series against Kansas at Harley Park. The Spartans and Jayhawks split the weekend, each walking away 2-2 in a quartet of close contests.
- Senior infielder Andres Kim and junior infielder Drake Harris lead the Spartans' offense, each hitting at a .357 clip. The duo has combined for 10 doubles and five RBI. As a team, USC Upstate hit .232 on opening weekend, collecting 18 runs.
- Righty Jordan Marks will get the start on the mound for the Spartans, his second of the season. The sophomore had a rough outing against Kansas, letting up five runs off five hits in 4.0 innings, walking two but striking out eight. Opponents hit .294 off Marks, including two doubles and two homers.
- This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two programs in a series dating back to the 2014 season.
- The Panthers hold a 4-1 all-time advantage, including two straight dating back to the 2017 season. This is the third straight season that the Panthers take part in the tournament.
SCOUTING RADFORD
- Radford (0-3, 0-0 Big South) opened the season against a formidable opponent, taking on No. 11 East Carolina in a three-game series, getting swept by the Pirates in Greenville, N.C.
- The Highlanders' offense struggled to produce against the Pirates, hitting just .206 on the weekend. Junior infielder Spence Horwitz led the way, collecting four hits and four walks, including one double and one homer. Of the six Highlander players to earn the start in all three games, Horwitz was the lone player to finish the weekend without a strikeout.
- Radford will put left-handed Derek Domecq on the mound Saturday, in his first start of the season. Domecq threw 1.0 innings against the Pirates last weekend, striking out one in a clean frame of work.
- The contest will be the first between the two programs.
- Bucknell (0-3, 0-0 Patriot League) also faced a tough task on Opening Weekend, facing No. 21 NC State in Raleigh, N.C., in a three-game slate.
- Three Bison are hitting above the .300 mark with three games in the books, led by sophomore Dominic Toso's .364 average. The infielder scored four runs, smacking one double and tallying an RBI. Junior outfielder JohnPaul Bell led his squad with six RBI, hitting at a .308 average with the team's lone home run.
- On the mound, the Bison will go with right-hander Jack Simpson, making his second start of the season. In his season debut, Simpson went 6.1 innings against an explosive NC State team, allowing four runs off seven hits and two walks, striking out four. He allowed three extra base hits as the Wolfpack hit .259 off the junior.
- The game will mark the 34th all-time meeting between the two teams in a series dating back to the 1942 season.
- The Panthers own a record of 22-12 but have not met since the 1999 season. Pitt has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including the most recent battle, a 5-4 victory on March 13, 1999.
- Senior Cole MacLaren brings in the team's longest active hit streak, sitting at five dating back to last season. Nico Popa, Ron Washington Jr. and David Yanni all sit at three, while five Panthers have a one-game mark.
- MacLaren's five-game reached base streak also paces the squad, followed by Sky Duff's four game-mark Connor Perry sits at three, while five Panthers bring in two-game marks.
- The Panthers own a record of 3-4 all-time in games played on Feb. 22.
- The Panthers own a record of 2-5 all-time in games played on Feb. 23.
- The Panthers own a record of 7-4 all-time in games played on Feb. 24.
- Mike Bell is entering his first season as head coach at Pitt after a seven-year stint as the associate head coach for ACC powerhouse Florida State. He brings 14 years of Division I coaching experience to the program and has coached 47 MLB draft picks, including 2006's No. 1 overall pick Luke Hochevar.
- In 2012, he was named the Perfect Game Assistant Coach of the Year and before the 2017 season, was named the No. 13 recruiter in the country by D1Baseball.com. In the last 13 years, Bell has also helped lead three teams to four College World Series appearances - Tennessee (2005), Oklahoma (2010), and Florida State (2012 & 2017). In his time at Florida State, the program won three ACC titles in 2015, 2017, and 2018 and his pitchers have recorded 500 or more strikeouts.
- Sophomore reliever Chase Smith was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watchlist, an award annually given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
- The Georgia native made 22 appearances as a true freshman, third most on the team. He held opponents to just a .191 average, competing to a record of 1-1 with one save and a 3.16 ERA.
- Smith is one of five ACC pitchers to garner the recognition and marks the second straight season in which a Pitt reliever has earned the preseason distinction (Yasin Chentouf).
- Freshman pitchers Billy Corcoran and Brady Devereux are no strangers to one another, as the duo comes to Pitt after stellar careers at Malvern Prep in Malvern, Pa.
- The pair won three state championships at Malvern, collecting the state title in 2015, 2016 and 2018.
- Both nationally touted recruits and highly sought after Pennsylvania player, both ranked in the top five amongst right handed pitchers and in the top 20 in the state of Pennsylvania by Perfect Game.
- The Panthers tallied 11 wins in regular season ACC play in the 2018 season, tying the program record for ACC victories in a single season.
- Pitt last accumulated 11 ACC wins in its inaugural season in the league, going 11-19 in 2014, which included sweeps of Duke and nationally-ranked Georgia Tech, as well as a win over then top-ranked Virginia as well as nationally-ranked North Carolina and Clemson.
- The Panthers finished the season with an overall record of 29-26, marking the 12th time in program history that the Panthers have won 29 or more games. Pitt's 29 wins rank 12th in Pitt history and are the most since setting the program record of 42 in 2013.
- The Panthers continued to set a standard of success with the 2018 MLB First Year Player Draft, as five student-athletes and two incoming commits heard their names called.
- RJ Freure was the first Panther to earn the honor as the pitcher was tabbed by the Houston Astros in the sixth round. Ace Matt Pidich followed with the 11th round selection of the Cincinnati Reds, while fellow pitcher Derek West was the 28th round pick of the Atlanta Braves. Liam Sabino was selected with the 35th round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals and Yasin Chentouf was taken in the 36th round by the Detroit Tigers. Incoming commits Mason Ronan (29th round, Boston Red Sox) and Billy Corcoran (36th round, Texas Rangers) were also selected.
- Of the seven selections, three will return to the Panthers, as West, Ronan and Corcoran elected to continue their collegiate careers.
- Junior pitcher Dan Hammer had a summer to remember in the prestigious Cape Cod League, earning national recognition in his second stint with the Chatham Anglers. The hard-throwing righty was the East Division's starting pitcher in the 2018 Cape Cod League All-Star game and put up impressive numbers splitting time between the bullpen and the starting rotation.
- The Panthers' righty was one of the best in the nation's top collegiate summer league, posting a 2-0 record and a 2.16 ERA in 25.0 innings for the Anglers, striking out 20 in the process.
- The Chatham Anglers are no stranger to Pitt pitchers, having hosted 2016 First Round Draft pick T.J. Zeuch, as well as 2017 19th round pick Isaac Mattson and 2018 Sixth Round pick RJ Freure.
- Redshirt junior pitcher Derek West had a solid season in the Cape Cod League, pitching with the league champion Wareham Gatemen. After joining the Gatemen in July, West made four appearances, including two starts, competing to a 1.10 ERA in 16.1 innings. He allowed just two runs off eight hits and six walks, striking out 15 and holding opponents to a .143 average.
- The Panthers made an historic run it the program's debut in the ACC Tournament, claiming back-to-back victories, including a win over top-seeded and eventual College World Series participant North Carolina in pool play.
- Pitt opened its postseason run with a 2-1 win over eighth-seeded Georgia Tech, scoring twice in the seventh inning to hold off the Yellow Jackets.
- Redshirt senior Matt Pidich tossed a gem in the opening game, going 7.0 innings, only one run off just three hits and one walk, whiffing eight. An RBI single from redshirt senior Caleb Parry gave the Panthers the lead before a three-bagger from freshman Chris Cappas put Pitt on top 2-0.
- The Panthers would have just over 24 hours to prepare for the top-seeded Tar Heels, but would advance to the semifinals with a stunning 5-4 win.
- Tied at three through four innings, North Carolina would secure the advantage in the fifth. Pitt would again use the seventh inning to break out, plating a pair to take its first lead of the game.
- Cappas was again vital to the offense, tying the game at 4-4 with an RBI double that put Parry in scoring position with one out. Junior Cole MacLaren would execute a perfect suicide squeeze on the first pitch of the next at bat, allowing Parry to score and giving the Panthers a lead they would not surrender.
- Pitt will head back to Kissimmee, Fla., for the second of two weekends at Osceola County Stadium in the final weekend tune up before ACC play gets underway.
- The Panthers will take part in four contests in Kissimmee, Fla., facing Hofstra on Friday, March 1 before moving on to take on Saint Peter's and Butler on Saturday, March 2 and Central Michigan on Sunday, March 3.
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