Pitt
12-7
Akron
6-14
Panthers Slug Four Home Runs, Beat Akron, 16-7
3/18/2025 7:37:00 PM | Baseball
PITTSBURGH - Pitt tied a season-high with four home runs this afternoon in the 16-7 win over Akron.
Ryan Zuckerman had the third multiple-home run game of his young career and second this season with his two home runs on Tuesday. Zuckerman went 2-4 with two solo home runs, three runs scored and two hit-by-pitches.
Luke Cantwell continued his hot streak this afternoon as he recorded three hits on the day for the fourth time in Pitt's last five games. He went 3-4 with two RBIs, two runs scored, two walks and a double. Cantwell is now hitting .425 and leads the team in hits with 31.
Caden Dulin had his second three-hit game of the year, going 3-5 with a two-run single in the sixth. Lorenzo Carrier had a five-RBI day for just the second time in his career on Tuesday. He went 2-5 with a three-run shot and a two-run single. Jayden Melendez had a multi-hit day as well with two hits and run scored.
Freshman lefthander Antonio Doganiero made the first start of his career and earned the first win of his career. He struck out a career-high six batter over four innings while allow just one earned run. Noah Czajkowski worked a scoreless eighth inning and allowed a single hit. Freshman Antonio Socarras made the first pitching appearance of his career and shut the door on Tuesday's contest in the ninth inning. He struck out two in his scoreless inning and did not surrender a hit.
Akron grabbed an early lead with one run in the top of the second inning.
Ryan Zuckerman and the Panthers immediately responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs. Zuckerman led off the inning with his sixth long ball of the year, clearing the wall in center to tie the game. Caden Dulin followed that up with a single to right and would advance to third on a Jake Kendro bunt single. David Pedanou drove in Dulin on a ground out to the pitcher to give Pitt their first lead of the game. Luke Cantwell extended Pitt's lead as drove in Kendro from second on an RBI single that bounced through the right side. Pitt led 3-1 after two.
The Zips added a run in the top of the third which cut Pitt's lead to just one through three innings.
Pitt added four more runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth inning to extend their lead to five. Pedanou led off the inning with a walk and stole second to put himself in scoring position. Luke Cantwell shot his second RBI single of the day up and middle and drove in Pedanou. Jayden Melendez collected his second base knock of the game with a single to left. With two on and no one out, Lorenzo Carrier lined a scorching three-run home run passed the scoreboard in left center. The Panthers led 7-2 after four full frames.
Akron scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning, Pitt now led 7-5.
The Panthers offense continued to roll however, adding five more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Carrier and Nessler walked, while Zuckerman was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and load the bases. Caden Dulin laced his third hit of the day up the middle on a two-run single. With Zuckerman now at third, Jake Kendro flew out to left and drove him in on a sacrifice fly. On the next pitch, David Pedanou sent a two-run blast off the batter's eye in center for his first home run as a Panther. After six innings, Pitt led 12-5.
Zuckerman launched his second home run off the day over the wall in right center in the bottom of the seventh inning.
After Akron added another pair of runs in the top of the eighth inning, Pitt responded one last time with a three-spot in the bottom half. Sebastian Pisacreta led off the inning with a ground rule double to right. Cantwell and pinch-hitter Jackson Cooke each worked walks. With Carrier now at the dish, Pisacreta scored on a wild pitch. Carrier would line a two-run single through the left side and drive in Pitt's 15th and 16th runs of the game.
Antonio Socarras came on in the top of the ninth to shut the door in the first appearance of his career. Socarras worked a scoreless frame and struck out two.
Up Next
Pitt hosts Kent State tomorrow, Wednesday March 19 at 3 PM.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Doganiero, Antonio (1-0)
L: J. Allen (0-1)
Batting:
2B: M. Bowman 1 ; N. Sackett 1
RBI: E. Bottone 2 ; J. Poist 1 ; A. Horvath 1 ; W. Heisler 1 ; N. Sackett 2
SF: J. Poist 1
Base Running:
RUNS: M. Bowman 1 ; A. Horvath 2 ; C. Schebler 1 ; C. Matlon 1 ; L. Mighton 1 ; N. Sackett 1
HBP: L. Mighton 1
PO: E. Bottone 1 ; J. Poist 1
Batting:
2B: Cantwell, Luke 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1
HR: Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Zuckerman, Ryan 2 ; Pedanou, David 1
RBI: Cantwell, Luke 2 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 5 ; Zuckerman, Ryan 2 ; Dulin, Caden 2 ; Kendro, Jake 1 ; Pedanou, David 3
SF: Kendro, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cantwell, Luke 2 ; Melendez, Jayden 1 ; Burroughs, Keeton 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 2 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; Zuckerman, Ryan 3 ; Dulin, Caden 2 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Kendro, Jake 1 ; Pedanou, David 2
SB: Nessler, AJ 1 ; Pedanou, David 1
HBP: Nessler, AJ 1 ; Zuckerman, Ryan 2
