Friday, May 10
Pittsburgh, PA
6 PM
Pitt
vs
North Carolina
Panthers Conclude Home Schedule, Host No. 11 UNC
5/9/2019 10:00:00 PM | Baseball
Pitt to Celebrate Negro Leagues, Senior Day, Mother’s Day
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will kick off a tough stretch to conclude the 2019 regular season, hosting No. 11 North Carolina for the final home series of year.
The games mark the first of seven straight against nationally-ranked opponents as Pitt concludes action at Charles L. Cost Field. The Panthers and Tar Heels get things started Friday at 6 p.m., returning to action Saturday at 3 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
The games mark the first of seven straight against nationally-ranked opponents as Pitt concludes action at Charles L. Cost Field. The Panthers and Tar Heels get things started Friday at 6 p.m., returning to action Saturday at 3 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday 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 (18-30, 5-19 ACC) kicks off a stretch of seven straight games against nationally-ranked opponents, hosting No. 11 North Carolina in the final home series of the 2019 season. The Panthers enter the weekend off a resounding 14-3 win over Western Michigan, having fallen 2-1 in a three-game series at Florida State. Pitt opened the series with the Seminoles with an impressive 10-0 blanking, the first win in program history in Tallahassee, Fla., before dropping the final two games.
- Junior Nico Popa has been a persistent offensive force this season, hitting at a team-high .349 average with 65 hits, 33 RBI and 41 runs. He's tallied 15 doubles, five triples and homers, boasting a .565 slugging mark. Connor Perry has been an offensive threat all season, belting a team-high 15 homers to rank third in the ACC. He's hitting at a .304 clip, adding 10 doubles and one triple with a team-high .619 slugging percentage.
- Redshirt junior Derek West will get the start in the series opener, looking to continue his hot streak in his ninth start of the season. West brings in a record of 2-2 with a 3.28 ERA, having allowed 30 runs (21 earned) off 23 walks and 57 hits, striking out 68. Junior Dan Hammer will take the mound Saturday, bringing in a mark of 3-6 with a 7.00 ERA. He's allowed 51 runs (42 earned) off 27 walks and 73 hits, striking out 69. Sunday's starter has yet to be determined.
- North Carolina (35-13, 15-9 ACC) enters the weekend after falling 9-5 to East Carolina in a mid-week matchup, snapping its four-game win streak. The Tar Heels' last ACC series came on April 26-28 as they took two from Virginia in Chapel Hill, N.C.
- Freshman Aaron Sabato leads the Tar Heel offense, hitting for a .311 average, leading the team in doubles (17) and slugging percentage (.616). He's tallied 11 homers, recording 45 RBI and a .424 on base mark. Junior Michael Busch owns a .299 average, leading the team in homers (12), RBI (47) and on base percentage (.461), tallying 12 doubles and a .575 slugging mark.
- Junior Tyler Baum will get the start in the opener, making his 12th start of the season. He owns a 7-2 record with a 3.79 ERA, having let up 29 runs (26 earned) off 19 walks and 61 hits, striking out a team-best 69. Junior Austin Bergner will get the call in game two, making his 12th start of the year. He owns a 4-0 record with a 5.43 ERA, allowing 40 runs (35 earned) off 19 walks and 68 hits, striking out 51. Freshman Will Sand will wrap up the series, making his eighth start of the year. He owns a mark of 2-0 with a 5.90 ERA, allowing 27 runs (26 earned) off 25 walks and 41 hits, striking out 33.
- North Carolina holds a 10-6 all-time advantage over the Panthers in a series dating back to the 2014 season.
- The series is tied at Charles L. Cost Field, sitting a 3-3.
- Pitt's last victory over North Carolina came in the ACC Tournament last season when the Panthers captured a thrilling 5-4 victory over the top seeded Tar Heels.
- Freshman Kyle Hess owns the team's longest hit streak, sitting at nine games. David Yanni sits at eight, while Connor Perry owns a five-game mark.
- Ron Washington Jr. owns a 37-game reached base streak to pace the group, followed by Nico Popa at 25 and Cole MacLaren at 20. Hess also owns a double-digit reached base mark, sitting at 10 games.
- The Panthers own a mark of 5-9 all-time in games played on May 10.
- Pitt is 2-2 all-time in games played against ACC opponents on May 10.
- The Panthers own a mark of 11-9 all-time in games played on May 11.
- Pitt is 1-1 all-time in games played against ACC opponents on May 11.
- The Panthers own a mark of 7-7 all-time in games played on May 12.
- Pitt is 2-2 all-time in games played against ACC opponents on May 12.
- Pitt pitchers have continued to dominate the strike zone in 2019, tallying 440 strikeouts through the 48 games. The mark ranks seventh in the ACC in total strikeouts and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (9.32).
- The Panthers are on pace for 504 whiffs this season, which would surpass the program high of 493 set during the 2018 campaign.
- On the year, junior Dan Hammer leads the group with 69, followed by fellow starter Derek West at 68. Reliever Chase Smith ranks third with 45, followed by freshman Billy Corcoran at 43.
- Of Pitt's six returning pitchers with at least 20.0 innings of work, all six have recorded new season highs with strikeouts – Hammer (69), West (68), Smith (45), Chris Gomez (32), Chris Cappas (30) and William Kirwan (27).
- Outfielder Connor Perry is having a season to remember, putting up impressive offensive numbers in his senior season.
- Perry ranks third on the Panther offense with a .304 average, tallying 10 doubles, one triple and 15 homers with 34 RBI. He owns a .619 slugging percentage to lead the team, adding a .409 on base mark, going 7-8 on the base paths.
- His homer output ranks third in the ACC, with nine coming in conference action, ranking second 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 fifth in the ACC and 39th in the nation. His 37-game reached base streak is good for the second longest active streak in the league.
- 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 an impressive .349 mark, to lead the team, tallying 33 RBI to rank second on the offense.
- He leads the ACC with five triples, as his average checks in at sixth best in the league. He boasts a .565 slugging mark and a .428 on base percentage.
- Popa has swiped 12 bases on the season to lead the team, drawing 15 walks and 12 hit by pitches, adding 15 doubles and five homers.
- Sophomore reliever Chase Smith has put up impressive numbers as the anchor out of the bullpen for the Panthers. Smith currently ranks fifth in the ACC with a 3.22 ERA, having let up just 18 earned runs in 50.1 innings of work.
- The Georgia native leads Pitt with four saves, tallying a career-best 45 strikeouts, having let up just nine extra base knocks on the season.
- The Pitt offense surged in the finale against Maryland Eastern Shore (May 1), tallying 26 runs off 21 hits, downing the Hawks 26-2 to secure the series sweep.
- The run output was the second highest in program history for the Panthers and the most against an NCAA Division I opponent, nearing the 36 runs put up against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in 1953.
- Thirteen Panther batters collected at least one hit as Pitt tallied its most runs and largest margin of victory in program history at Charles L. Cost 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 wrap up non-conference action, taking the field at PNC Park Tuesday for a meeting with rival West Virginia.
- The 2019 regular season will conclude the following weekend as Pitt travels to nationally-ranked Georgia Tech.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram
Players Mentioned
OF/LHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF/INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ BaseballPitt Baseball | The Cardiac Cats do it again and defeat Louisville 13-11!
Wednesday, May 21
Pitt's Jayden Melendez Hits The Bull
Wednesday, May 21
Pitt First Baseman Luke Cantwell's Beautiful Basket Catch
Wednesday, May 21
Highlights | Pitt 13, Louisville 11 | ACC Tournament
Tuesday, May 20