Wednesday, April 3
Granville, WV
6:35 PM
Pitt
at
West Virginia
Pitt Kicks Off Road Swing at West Virginia
4/2/2019 9:18:00 PM | Baseball
Panthers Prepare for First of Two Backyard Brawls
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team kicks off a five-game road swing at West Virginia Wednesday evening, taking part in the first of two Backyard Brawls on tap in the 2019 season.
The Panthers and Mountaineers will get things started at 6:35 p.m. from Monongalia County Ballpark in Granville, W.Va.
HOW TO FOLLOW
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
The Panthers and Mountaineers will get things started at 6:35 p.m. from Monongalia County Ballpark in Granville, W.Va.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- The game can be seen live via WVUSports.com.
- Live stats will be available here.
- Fans can follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Pitt (8-18, 2-10 ACC) travels to Granville, W.Va. to face off against rival West Virginia in a road mid-week game. Pitt enters the contest after falling 1-2 in a weekend series against Miami.
- Senior Connor Perry has been hot at the plate, batting a team-best .359 with 33 hits, 29 runs and 14 RBI. Perry has tallied a .696 slugging percentage and .487 on base mark, both of which lead the team. In last weekend's series against Miami, Perry racked up three homers. Sophomore Ron Washington Jr. continues to be a force in the Panthers' offense, hitting at a .320 average with a .515 slugging percentage and a team-high of 13 doubles and 15 RBI.
- Junior Christian Camacho will get the start on the mound for the Panthers, his eighth of the season, a mark that leads the ACC. The transfer brings in a mark of 1-3 and a 5.47 ERA, having allowed 16 runs (16 earned) off 15 walks and 29 hits, striking out 30.
- West Virginia (16-11, 2-4 Big 12) enters the game having after a huge home series victory over No. 19 Oklahoma. The Mountaineers dropped game one 2-1, but bounced back to capture game two 12-4 and secure the series with a 5-1 win in the finale.
- Sophomore Tyler Doanes has been an offensive force for the Mountaineers this season, hitting at a .314 clip while leading the team in runs (21) and hits (32). Senior Darius Hill has also been impactful, boasting a .510 slugging percentage with 21 runs, 29 hits, and 18 RBI.
- Left-hander Nick Snyder will get the call on the mound for the Mountaineers, making his sixth start of the season. The junior has been impressive for West Virginia, owning a record of 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA in 20.2 innings. He's allowed just four runs off 14 hits and 13 walks, striking out 33 and holding opponents to a .187 average.
- The game will be the 157th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to the 1939 season.
- The Mountaineers own an 83-73-0 all-time advantage, including a mark of 23-16 in games played at WVU.
- West Virginia has won four straight dating back to the 2016 campaign with Pitt's last victory coming in a 4-1 decision at Monongalia County Ballpark on April 12, 2016.
- Ron Washington Jr. and Connor Perry own the team's longest hit streaks, sitting at seven games apiece. Freshman Sky Duff owns a five-game mark, while both Nico Popa and Kyle Hess sit at three.
- Washington Jr.'s 24-game reached base streak paces the team, while Perry sits at 10. David Yanni owns an eight-game mark, followed by Hess at six.
- Pitt owns a mark of 8-5 all-time in games played on April 3.
- Outfielder Connor Perry is having a season to remember, putting up impressive offensive numbers in his senior season.
- Perry leads the Panther offense with a .359 average, tallying five doubles, one triple and eight homers with 14 RBI. He owns a .696 slugging percentage and a .487 on base mark, going 5-6 on the base paths.
- His average ranks sixth in the ACC, while his on base mark ranks seventh and his slugging percentage sits at third.
- Six of this team-leading eight homers have come in conference action, the most homers by a batter in ACC play in the league.
- 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 13 doubles in 26 games this season, in a tie for second in the ACC and 12th in the nation.
- On the season, he's hitting at a .320 clip, tallying 15 extra base hits with 15 RBI and a .515 slugging percentage.
- He paces the Panther offense in league play, hitting for a .370 average with a .543 slugging mark and a .442 on base percentage. His average in ACC play ranks 11th in the conference.
- After missing a majority of the 2018 campaign due to injury, junior Nico Popa has returned to the lineup with a purpose for the 2019 squad. Popa is hitting at a .297 mark, ranking third on the team, tallying 13 RBI to rank fifth on the offense.
- He leads the ACC with three triples, boasting a .416 slugging mark and a .374 on base percentage.
- Popa has swiped three bases on the season, drawing 10 walks and three hit by pitches, adding six doubles.
- Freshman Billy Corcoran has had an impressive start to his collegiate baseball career, putting up strong numbers as he looks for a spot in the weekend rotation.
- Corcoran ranks sixth in the ACC with a 1.82 ERA, leading all Pitt pitchers. On the season, he's struck out 25 over 29.2 innings of work, holding opponents to a .200 average, which ranks seventh in the conference.
- In league play the hard-throwing righty hasn't shied away, leading the league with a 0.95 ERA in ACC action. He's collected 19.0 innings of work in the conference, letting up just two runs off 13 hits and six walks, fanning 14 and holding opponents to a .186 average.
- 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 return to ACC play this weekend, traveling to Duke for a three-game slate with the Blue Devils, April 5-7.
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