Baseball: Pitt wins two of three

The Pitt baseball team won two out of three games against Wofford this weekend to improve its… The Pitt baseball team won two out of three games against Wofford this weekend to improve its record to 3-4.

The Panthers lost three out of four games to start the season, but after winning two out of three in Spartanburg, S.C., Pitt will hope for similar results as it travels east to Conway, S.C., for the Coastal Carolina Invitational this weekend.

An offensive performance like Pitt put on in the first game against Wofford could go a long way in helping the Panthers keep their momentum.

Pitt 22, Wofford 12

The Panthers started the series strong on Saturday, collecting 19 hits and hitting three home runs in a 22-12 win.

Freshman Elvin Soto hit two long balls while senior Rick Devereaux added one. The Panthers scored 11 runs before Wofford got on the board with three runs in the third inning.

Pitt’s Casey Roche drove in five runs and went 3-6 at the plate. Seven Pitt players finished with at least two RBIs. Soto led the Panthers with four RBIs, followed up by Sam Parente (three), Stephen Vranka (two), Devereaux (two), Derik Wilson (two) and Kevin Johnson (two).

Pitcher Matt Iannazzo picked up the win. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing six runs and eight hits while striking out seven batters. With two more wins, Iannazzo will tie Corey Baker for the program’s win record. Iannazzo currently has 22 wins.

The Panthers scored seven runs in both the second and fourth innings with 10 total hits in the two frames.

Pitt 7, Wofford 8

Pitt dropped its second game against Wofford as the Terriers scored the tying and winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Panthers started strong and led 5-3 entering the seventh inning, but they gave up three runs in the bottom of the seventh to surrender the advantage to Wofford.

Pitt scored in the top of the eighth to regain a 6-5 lead, but Wofford’s Konstantine Diamaduros and Eric Brenk hit consecutive RBI singles to give the Terriers the win.

The Panthers finished the game with 10 hits, including a home run and a single from Devereaux. Anthony Defabio and Roche singled twice, while Vranka, Wilson and Johnson each singled once.

Pitt 8, Wofford 4

The Panthers scored six runs in the top of the sixth inning on Sunday to overcome a 4-0 deficit and win the last game of the Wofford series.

After the Terriers broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth by putting four runs on the board, Pitt responded in the sixth, putting up three hits and six runs with help from two Wofford errors and three walks.

Pitt added two runs in the eighth inning, as Johnson scored on a wild pitch and Defabio scored on a Roche walk.

Roche went 2-3 at the plate with two RBIs, while five other Panthers each drove in a run.

Matt Wotherspoon threw seven innings for Pitt, allowing seven hits and four runs.