Pitt Concludes Regular Season at No. 7 Georgia Tech

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will wrap up the 2019 regular season at No. 7 Georgia Tech, taking on the Yellow Jackets in the final weekend of ACC action.

The Panthers are facing their third straight top-20 opponent, after meeting No. 11 North Carolina and No. 20 West Virginia. The series will kick off Thursday at 7 p.m., resuming Friday at 6 p.m. and concluding Saturday 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 StatBroadcast.com.
Fans can follow @Pitt_BASE on Twitter and Instagram.

LEADING OFF

Pitt (20-32, 7-20 ACC) concludes the 2019 regular season, traveling to No. 7 Georgia Tech for an ACC weened in Atlanta. The Panthers enter the game after dropping a mid-week tilt with No. 20 West Virginia at PNC Park, but captured a series victory over No. 11 North Carolina in ACC play the weekend before.
Outfielder Nico Popa paces the Panther offense, hitting at an impressive .351 clip to rank xx in the ACC. He's tallied 15 doubles, an-ACC leading five triples as well as seven homers on the year, boasting a .579 slugging mark and a .427 on base percentage, going 13-14 on the base paths. Fellow outfielder Connor Perry has had a solid season as well, hitting for a .298 average with 12 doubles, one triple and a team-high 15 homers as well as a team-best .596 slugging percentage.
Redshirt junior Derek West will get the call on the mound in the opener, making his 10th start of the season. The Panthers have won five straight contests when the hard-throwing righty takes the mound, as he boasts a 3.11 ERA to lead the starting rotation. He's allowed 22 earned runs off 60 hits and 28 walks, fanning 74 in 63.2 innings. Junior Dan Hammer will get the call on Saturday, making his 13th start of the year. Hammer owns a 6.90 ERA, having let up 46 runs off 80 hits and 31 walks, whiffing a team-high 75 in 60.0 innings. Sunday's starter has yet to be determined.

SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH

Georgia Tech (36-15, 17-10 ACC) has won eight straight ACC series, walking away with 2-1 victories each weekend since dropping the ACC opening weekend to Miami. The Yellow Jackets last took the field in a 7-1 win over Mercer after taking two-of-three from Georgia Tech the weekend before.
The Yellow Jacket offense leads the ACC, hitting at a .299 average. Michael Guldberg paces the offense with a .379 average, while Tristin English (.324) leads the squad with 15 doubles and Kyle McCann (.297) has recorded 21 homers and a .692 slugging mark to lead the team.
Right-hander Amos Willingham will get the call in the opener, bringing in a mark of 6-2 with a 4.99 ERA. He's allowed 29 earned runs off 59 hits and 15 walks, striking out 30 in 52.1 innings. Southpaw Connor Thomas will take the mound on Friday, bringing in a record of 8-1 with a 3.43 ERA. He's let up 34 earned runs off 97 hits and 16 walks, whiffing 84 in 89.1 innings. Right-hander Cort Roeding will take the hill in the finale, bringing in a mark of 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA. In 12 appearances (seven starts), he's let up 19 runs off 28 hits and 18 walks, striking out 33 in 36.2 frames.

SERIES WITH GEORGIA TECH

The Panthers own an 8-7 all-time advantage in a series that dates back to the 2014 season when Pitt joined the ACC.
Pitt has won three straight dating back to last year's ACC Tournament and a 2-1 series win.
Georgia Tech own a mark of 1-5 in the series' history in Atlanta and have won four straight at home over the Panthers.