Friday, April 12
Pittsburgh, PA
6 PM
Pitt
10-22, 3-13
8
vs
3
Wake Forest
19-16, 7-9
1
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5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Wake Forest
0
0
0
0
0
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8
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Pittsburgh
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1
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0
3
0
0
1
X
8
10
0
West’s Career Outing, Hot Bats Push Pitt Past Wake Forest
4/12/2019 10:05:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – A career performance from Derek West and a hot offense led the University of Pittsburgh baseball team to an 8-3 victory over Wake Forest in the series opener Friday night at Charles L. Cost Field.
While the Panthers lineup pushed eight runs across, the standout of the day was West, who racked up 12 strikeouts in 6.0 frames. His strikeout mark ranks as the highest by a Pitt pitcher this season, and is tied for the most by a Panther pitcher at Charles L. Cost Field.
Pitt had a consistent offensive presence through the early innings of the game, scoring at least one run in each of the first three frames, before taking a commanding 7-0 lead through five.
Kyle Hess got things started in the bottom of the first, sending a double down the left field line to score Ron Washington Jr., who had drawn a full-count walk. Pitt kept things going in the bottom of the second as a solo homer by Connor Perry made it 2-0 in favor of the home team. The hot hands would continue in the third as a pair of doubles from Washington Jr. and Nico Popa gave the Panthers a four-run advantage.
After a quick fourth inning, the Panthers picked up where they left off, as a three-run fifth inning gave Pitt a 7-0 lead. A Sky Duff single and a walk to Bryce O'Farrell would set up a Washington Jr. RBI single to left field. After Hess was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Popa knocked in another run off a fielder's choice. Perry would cap off the inning with RBI sacrifice bunt, scoring Washington Jr., as Pitt took a commanding lead.
Wake Forest would begin to chip away at the advantage in the sixth, scoring on an infield single to put up its first run of the game. In the seventh, the Demon Deacons pushed two more across, cutting the Pitt lead to four.
Pitt scored the final run of the game in the eight as Gregory Ryan Jr. smacked an RBI single into right field, scoring Perry, who had led off the frame with a single up the middle.
Closer Chase Smith, who had entered the game in the eighth, tossed a clean ninth inning, as the Panthers held on for the victory.
The win is the first ACC series opening victory of the year for the Panthers in the 2019 campaign.
West (1-2) was stellar in his fifth start of the season, going 6.0 innings, allowing three runs off seven hits and one walk, striking out 12 in the process. Freshman Brady Devereux tossed 1.0 inning, while Smith threw the final 2.0 frames, holding the Demon Deacons hitless and tallying one strikeout.
Offensively, Washington Jr. led the way for the Panthers, extending his reached base streak to 30 games, going 2-3 with two RBI, three runs and a walk. Perry also delivered for the Panthers, going 2-3 with two RBI, his ninth homer of the season, and two runs.
The Panthers will wrap up the series Saturday, as the two teams are slated for a doubleheader at Charles L. Cost Field. Action will get underway at 1 p.m., with game two to follow approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
While the Panthers lineup pushed eight runs across, the standout of the day was West, who racked up 12 strikeouts in 6.0 frames. His strikeout mark ranks as the highest by a Pitt pitcher this season, and is tied for the most by a Panther pitcher at Charles L. Cost Field.
Pitt had a consistent offensive presence through the early innings of the game, scoring at least one run in each of the first three frames, before taking a commanding 7-0 lead through five.
Kyle Hess got things started in the bottom of the first, sending a double down the left field line to score Ron Washington Jr., who had drawn a full-count walk. Pitt kept things going in the bottom of the second as a solo homer by Connor Perry made it 2-0 in favor of the home team. The hot hands would continue in the third as a pair of doubles from Washington Jr. and Nico Popa gave the Panthers a four-run advantage.
After a quick fourth inning, the Panthers picked up where they left off, as a three-run fifth inning gave Pitt a 7-0 lead. A Sky Duff single and a walk to Bryce O'Farrell would set up a Washington Jr. RBI single to left field. After Hess was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Popa knocked in another run off a fielder's choice. Perry would cap off the inning with RBI sacrifice bunt, scoring Washington Jr., as Pitt took a commanding lead.
Wake Forest would begin to chip away at the advantage in the sixth, scoring on an infield single to put up its first run of the game. In the seventh, the Demon Deacons pushed two more across, cutting the Pitt lead to four.
Pitt scored the final run of the game in the eight as Gregory Ryan Jr. smacked an RBI single into right field, scoring Perry, who had led off the frame with a single up the middle.
Closer Chase Smith, who had entered the game in the eighth, tossed a clean ninth inning, as the Panthers held on for the victory.
The win is the first ACC series opening victory of the year for the Panthers in the 2019 campaign.
West (1-2) was stellar in his fifth start of the season, going 6.0 innings, allowing three runs off seven hits and one walk, striking out 12 in the process. Freshman Brady Devereux tossed 1.0 inning, while Smith threw the final 2.0 frames, holding the Demon Deacons hitless and tallying one strikeout.
Offensively, Washington Jr. led the way for the Panthers, extending his reached base streak to 30 games, going 2-3 with two RBI, three runs and a walk. Perry also delivered for the Panthers, going 2-3 with two RBI, his ninth homer of the season, and two runs.
The Panthers will wrap up the series Saturday, as the two teams are slated for a doubleheader at Charles L. Cost Field. Action will get underway at 1 p.m., with game two to follow approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: West, Derek (1-2)
L: Colin Peluse (2-5)
Batting:
RBI: Michael Turconi 1 ; Patrick Frick 1 ; Bobby Seymour 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Michael Turconi 1 ; Bruce Steel 1 ; DJ Poteet 1
Batting:
2B: Washington, Jr., Ron 1 ; Hess, Kyle 1 ; Popa, Nico 1
HR: Perry, Connor 1
RBI: Washington, Jr., Ron 2 ; Hess, Kyle 1 ; Popa, Nico 2 ; Perry, Connor 2 ; Ryan Jr., Gregory 1
SH: Perry, Connor 1 ; MacLaren, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Duff, Sky 1 ; O'Farrell, Bryce 2 ; Washington, Jr., Ron 3 ; Perry, Connor 2
SB: O'Farrell, Bryce 1
HBP: Hess, Kyle 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF/INF
/ Baseball
RHP
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