Pitt
10-5
Youngstown State
1-14
Panthers Run-Rule Penguins on Wednesday Afternoon
3/12/2025 8:02:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH – Pitt run-ruled Youngstown State in eight innings on Wednesday afternoon, 17-7. They tied their season-high for runs in a game.
AJ Nessler had a career-high seven RBIs against the Penguins on Wednesday, going 3-4 with two runs scored, a walk and a triple. The last Panther to have seven or more RBIs in a game was CJ Funk (9) against Wright State last year.
Luke Cantwell had his third three-hit game of the season today. He went 3-4 with three RBIs, two doubles, a walk and a hit by pitch. Sebastian Pisacreta went 2-4 with three runs scored, three RBIs and launched his third long ball of the year to left center. David Pedanou went 3-3 with an RBI, a triple and four runs scored. Jake Kendro had two base hits and scored a career-high four runs on the afternoon.
Pitt's two triples today by Nessler and Pedanou were their most in a game since April 1st, 2023 at Duke. AJ Nessler was a part of the duo in 2023 as well, when he and Kyle Hess both tripled.
In relief, Matt Porter earned his first win of 2025 and threw 3.1 shutout innings while allowing just a single hit. It was the best outing of his Pitt career. After the Penguins tied the game in the fifth inning, Porter came in and shut down any offensive momentum by the Penguins.
The Panthers raced out of the gates, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first three innings. In the bottom of the first inning, AJ Nessler and Ryan Zuckerman each worked walks to lead off the game. Luke Cantwell drove in Nessler on a double to right center and sent Zuckerman to third. Lorenzo Carrier had a sacrifice fly that drove in Zuckerman and out the Panthers up 2-0 in the first.
In the bottom of the second, the Panthers would add another 3 runs and extend their lead to five. With the bases loaded, Nessler would be hit by a pitch, scoring Pisacreta from third. Another run would be scored on a wild pitch, advancing all baserunners again, before Lorenzo Carrier hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to drive in the Panthers' fifth run of the day.
With one out in the bottom of the third inning, Sebastian Pisacreta hit his third home run of the year to left center. Jake Kendro worked a walk and put himself into scoring position with a stolen base and advanced to third on a single by David Pednou. AJ Nessler drove in Kendro on an RBI grounded out. The Panther lead 7-0 after four innings.
In the top of the fifth, Youngstown State would tie the game with seven runs on seven hits.
Pitt responded immediately with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run triple by AJ Nessler to regain their lead. The Panthers led 9-7 until the seventh.
In the second at bat of the seventh inning, David Pedanou would hit Pitt's second triple of the day to right center. AJ Nessler singled through the right side and drove in his fifth run of the game to make it 10-7 after seven.
The Panthers had one final offensive explosion with a seven-run eighth inning. With the bases loaded, Sebastian Pisacreta drove in Tarpley Jr. and Carrier on a single through the left side. Pedanou walked with the bases loaded and made it a 13-7 ballgame. AJ Nessler collected his sixth and seventh RBIs of the afternoon on a two-run single to left center. Luke Cantwell ended this one early when he roped a two-run double down the left field line to make it a 10-run game as the Panthers won 17-7.
Up Next
Pitt begins ACC play this weekend when they travel to Atlanta, GA for a three-game set at Georgia Tech.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Porter, Matt (1-0)
L: WILMS, Gavin (0-1)
Batting:
2B: CUTTING, Garrett 1 ; BROWN, Eli 1 ; WRONA, Jay 1
HR: KURIGER, Brayden 1
RBI: CUTTING, Garrett 2 ; KURIGER, Brayden 4 ; WRONA, Jay 1
Base Running:
RUNS: CUTTING, Garrett 1 ; FOSSUM, Kyle 1 ; SHANNON, Brady 1 ; KURIGER, Brayden 1 ; BROWN, Eli 1 ; WRONA, Jay 1 ; McCLAIN-BANKS, Brand 1
HBP: FOSSUM, Kyle 1
PO: BROWN, Eli 1
Batting:
2B: Cantwell, Luke 2
3B: Nessler, AJ 1 ; Pedanou, David 1
HR: Pisacreta, Sebastian 1
RBI: Nessler, AJ 7 ; Cantwell, Luke 3 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 2 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 3 ; Pedanou, David 1
SH: Melendez, Jayden 1
SF: Carrier, Lorenzo 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Nessler, AJ 2 ; Zuckerman, Ryan 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Tarpley Jr., Derrick 1 ; Dulin, Caden 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 3 ; Kendro, Jake 4 ; Pedanou, David 4
SB: Kendro, Jake 1
HBP: Nessler, AJ 1 ; Cantwell, Luke 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1
