Friday, April 26
Pittsburgh, Pa
6 PM
Pitt
vs
Presbyterian
Panthers Host Presbyterian in Non-Conference Tilt
4/25/2019 4:47:00 PM | Baseball
Blue Hose Make First Trip to Pittsburgh
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team welcomes Presbyterian for a three-game series at Charles L. Cost Field, as Pitt takes part in non-conference action on graduation weekend.
The Panthers and Blue Hose will kick things off in a single game Friday at 6 p.m., returning to play Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
The Panthers and Blue Hose will kick things off in a single game Friday at 6 p.m., returning to play Saturday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- All three games can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
- Live stats will be available via PittsburghPanthers.com.
- Fans can follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.
- Pitt (12-27, 4-17 ACC) returns to action Friday and Saturday, hosting Presbyterian in a non-conference weekend series at Charles L. Cost Field. The Panthers and Blue Hose will take to the field for a single game Saturday, returning to action for a doubleheader Saturday afternoon. Pitt is coming off of a series loss to Notre Dame, taking the first game but falling in games two and three at home.
- Junior Nico Popa is pacing the Panther offense, hitting at a solid pace after missing a majority of the 2018 season due to injury. The Pittsburgh native owns a .324 average, tallying eight doubles, five triples and two homers with 19 RBI. He paces the team in average, triples, hit by pitch and stolen bases. Ron Washington Jr. owns a .304 average and leads the team with 17 doubles, while freshman Sky Duff is hitting at a .300 clip. Senior Connor Perry leads the team with 10 homers and 23 RBI, hitting at a .298 mark.
- Redshirt junior Derek West will get the call in the opening game, making his seventh start of the season. The hard-throwing right-hander has been masterful of late, putting together three straight quality starts against ACC opponents. He brings in a record of 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA, having allowed 26 runs (20 earned) in 45.2 innings, letting up 19 walks and 48 hits and striking out 53. Starters for both Saturday games have yet to be determined.
- Presbyterian (20-21, 11-7 Big South) enters the weekend winners of two of four over the last week, taking a mid-week tilt from Davidson following a 2-1 series loss to High Point. The Blue Hose have won nine of their last 12, including series sweeps over USC Upstate and UNC Ashville.
- As a team, the Blue Hose hit at a .258 clip, led by a pair that sit above the .300 mark. Zacchaeus Rasberry leads the way, hitting for a .346 average with four doubles, four triples, five homers and 22 RBI. He owns a .519 slugging percentage and a .408 on base mark, drawing 15 walks and going 9-11 on the base paths. Jimmy Marcelli owns a .325 average with nine doubles, one triple and two homers, adding a .435 slugging mark. Nick Guimbarda has recorded a team-best 32 RBI, hitting for a .289 average.
- Presbyterian will throw a trio of right-handers this weekend, with Eric Miles taking the bump Friday night. Miles brings in a mark of 6-2 with a 3.47 ERA, having allowed 26 runs (23 earned) off 57 hits and 16 walks, fanning 58 in 59.2 innings. Jackson Dean will get the call in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, bringing in a record of 3-3 with a 3.71 ERA. He's let up 30 runs (22 earned) off 79 hits and 10 walks, striking out 26 in 53.1 innings. Grayson Stoneking will take the mound in the finale, bringing in a record of 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA. He's allowed 25 runs (21 earned) off 28 hits and 14 walks, fanning 16 in 25.2 innings, making just his second start of the season.
- The Panthers own a record of 4-0 all-time over the Blue Hose in a series dating back to the 1992 season. The series will mark the first time that Presbyterian has traveled to Pittsburgh, as Pitt is 2-0 on the road and 2-0 in neutral site contests in the series' history.
- The two teams faced off in a lone game last year, as Pitt earned a 4-3 victory at the Wofford-USC Upstate Tournament. The two squads took part in a two-game series in 2014 with Pitt capturing a 12-3 victory and a 10-9 extra-inning win.
- The first meeting between the two programs took place on March 9, 1992 in a 10-4 Pitt win.
- Nico Popa brings in the team's longest hit-streak, sitting at 11 games. The mark sits one game behind the team's longest of the season, as Ron Washington Jr. tallied 12 earlier in the year. Cole MacLaren owns a three-game mark, while Zach Klapak sits at two and both David Yanni and JC Mendez sit at one.
- Washington Jr.'s 37-game reached base streak paces the Panthers and ranks second in the ACC as the longest current active streak. He has reached base in each game since Feb. 16 versus Marshall. Freshman Sky Duff sits at 18 games, followed by Popa at 16 and MacLaren at 11.
- The Panthers are 6-1 all-time in games played on April 26.
- The Panthers are 4-4 all-time in games played on April 27.
- Outfielder Connor Perry is having a season to remember, putting up impressive offensive numbers in his senior season.
- Perry ranks fourth on the Panther offense with a .298 average, tallying seven doubles, one triple and 10 homers with 23 RBI. He owns a .574 slugging percentage and a .415 on base mark, going 7-8 on the base paths.
- Seven of this team-leading 10 homers have come in conference action, ranking third 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 17 doubles in 39 games this season, ranking second in the ACC and 12th in the nation.
- On the season, he's hitting at a .306 clip, tallying 19 extra base hits with 19 RBI and a .465 slugging percentage.
- He leads the Panther offense in league play, hitting for a .325 average with a .450 slugging mark and a .413 on base percentage.
- 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 .324 mark, to lead the team, tallying 19 RBI to rank third on the offense.
- He leads the ACC with five triples, boasting a .486 slugging mark and a .413 on base percentage.
- Popa has swiped 10 bases on the season to lead the team, drawing 13 walks and 10 hit by pitches, adding eight doubles and two homers.
- Freshman Billy Corcoran has had an impressive start to his collegiate baseball career, putting up strong numbers as he looks to secure a spot in the weekend rotation.
- Corcoran ranks 10th in the ACC with a 3.28 ERA, leading all Pitt starting pitchers. On the season, he's struck out 36 over 46.2 innings of work, holding opponents to a .237 average.
- In league play the hard-throwing righty hasn't shied away, sixth with a 3.25 ERA in ACC action. He's collected 36.0 innings of work in the conference, letting up just 13 runs off 32 hits and 15 walks, fanning 25 and holding opponents to a .241 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 will host Maryland Eastern Shore for a pair of contests April 30 and May 1.
- ACC action resumes May 3-5 as the Panthers travel to Florida State.
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