Friday, March 15
Pittsburgh, PA
3 PM
Pitt
vs
Virginia Tech
Panthers Host Virginia Tech in ACC Action
3/14/2019 4:06:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt in Search of First ACC Victory in 2019
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will host ACC Coastal Division foe Virginia Tech in a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field, as the Panthers take part in their first conference action in Pittsburgh.
Pitt and the Hokies will get things started Friday at 3 p.m., returning to action Saturday at 3 p.m. before closing things out Sunday at 1 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Pitt and the Hokies will get things started Friday at 3 p.m., returning to action Saturday at 3 p.m. before closing things out Sunday at 1 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- All three games can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN and the Watch ESPN app.
- Live stats will be available here.
- Fans can follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Pitt (6-9, 0-3 ACC) hosts its first weekend of conference action at Charles L. Cost Field, welcoming Virginia Tech for a three-game series. The Panthers look to turn their fortunes around, having dropped six straight contests dating back to March 3.
- The Panthers are hitting .259 as a team, led by Connor Perry, who is knocking at a .346 clip. Junior Nico Popa owns a .333 average, while Ron Washington Jr. (.327) is also hitting above the .300 mark. Freshman Sky Duff and redshirt junior David Yanni lead the team with 10 RBI.
- On the mound, freshman Billy Corcoran will make his first career ACC start, his second start of the season, on Friday. The Ridley, Pa., native has appeared in six contests, owning a 2.51 ERA, having let up four runs off 11 hits and three walks, striking out 16. Junior Dan Hammer will get the call on Saturday, making his fifth start of the season. The righty struggled against NC State, allowing eight runs to bring his ERA to a 5.40 on the season. In 18.1 innings, he's allowed 12 runs (11 earned) off 20 hits and five walks, striking out 33 to rank third in the ACC and 33rd in the nation.
- Virginia Tech (11-5, 1-2 ACC) enters the weekend after back-to-back midweek victories over Richmond in Blacksburg, Va. The Hokies are winners of three of their last five, including a 6-0 blanking of then top-ranked Florida State. Virginia Tech took one from the Seminoles in Tallahassee and forced extra innings in a one-run loss to open ACC play.
- The Hokies are hitting .270 as a team, led by Jack Owens (.371), Carson Taylor (.349), Kevin Madden (.313) and Kerry Carpenter (.306). Luke Horanski leads the Virginia Tech squad with 17 RBI, followed by Carpenter's 16 and Tanner Thomas' 11. On the season, Virginia Tech has outscored opponents 140-116.
- Left-hander Ian Seymour will get the call on Friday, making his fifth start of the season. He boasts a 3.50 ERA, having allowed eight runs (seven earned) off 17 hits and eight walks in 18.0 innings, fanning 24 in the process. Chris Gerard will earn the start in game two, making his fifth of the season. In 21.0 frames, he owns a 0.43 ERA, having allowed just three runs (one earned) off six walks and 17 hits, striking out 19.
- The Panthers own a 19-15-0 all-time advantage over the Hokies in a series dating back to the 1980 season.
- Pitt owns a one-game advantage all-time in ACC matchups, with an 8-7 series lead.
- The Panthers dropped two-of-three to the Hokies in the 2018 meeting in Blacksburg, Va., but swept Virginia Tech in the 2016 meeting at Charles L. Cost Field.
- Freshman Sky Duff leads the Panthers with a seven-game hit streak, followed by fellow rookie Andres Antonini, who sits at five. Connor Perry brings in a four-game mark, while Ron Washington Jr. saw his team-best 12-game mark stopped against Youngstown State.
- Washington Jr.'s 13-game reached base streak leads the squad, and is the longest of the season by a Panther batter. Perry sits at 10, followed by Duff at seven and both Antonini and Kyle Hess at five.
- The Panthers own a mark of 12-3 all-time in games played on March 15.
- Pitt is 1-2 all-time in ACC contests played on March 15.
- The Panthers own a 12-5 record all-time in games played on March 16.
- Pitt is 0-1 all-time in ACC contests played on March 16.
- Pitt owns a mark of 11-4 all-time in games played on March 17.
- The Panthers are 0-2 all-time in ACC contests played on March 17.
- There's been no slump for sophomore Ron Washington Jr. as the outfielder/designated hitter has continued to shine in the Panther offense.
- Washington Jr. has tallied nine doubles in 15 games this season, leading the ACC and ranking sixth in the nation.
- On the season, he's hitting at a .327 clip, tallying 10 extra base hits with eight RBI and a .545 slugging percentage.
- Senior Connor Perry has earned a role in the starting lineup and is pacing the Panther offense in a majority of offensive categories.
- The outfielder is hitting a team-best .346, ranking 17th in the ACC. He owns a team-leading .577 slugging percentage and .469 on base mark. The lefty bat has collected four doubles, one triple and two homers, drawing 11 walks and is a perfect three-of-three in stolen base attempts.
- Perry has also been solid defensively, having yet to commit an error and adding 30 putouts as the anchor in center field.
- 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.
- Mike Bell is in 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.
- 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' homestand concludes Wednesday, March 20 against Kent State in a 3 p.m. meeting.
- Pitt returns to ACC play the following weekend, traveling to Virginia for a three-game slate in Charlottesville.
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