Baseball: Panthers sweep 3-game series with Villanova

The Pitt baseball team swept its series against Villanova over the weekend to improve to 19-11… The Pitt baseball team swept its series against Villanova over the weekend to improve to 19-11 overall and 6-3 in Big East play.

The Panthers won both games of a doubleheader on Saturday, 15-6 and 9-5, before taking the third and final game 7-3 on Sunday in Pittsburgh.

In the first game, senior Zach Duggan went 2 for 4 at the plate, hitting two triples and driving in two runs. Eight of Pitt’s nine batters finished with at least one hit, and the Panthers finished with 14 total.

Although Villanova started the scoring in the first inning, Pitt pulled away with six runs in the fourth, three runs in the fifth and five runs in the sixth.

In the second game, the Wildcats held Pitt scoreless for six innings, but the Panthers then exploded for seven hits and seven runs in the bottom of seventh.

Matt Iannazzo pitched eight innings and picked up the win, allowing nine hits, five runs and striking out two. Catcher Kevan Smith went 2 for 4 at the plate with three RBIs.

On Sunday, freshman Casey Roche finished with a season-high three hits, while seniors David Chester and Phil Konieczny each collected two RBIs.

Pitt took the lead in the third inning when senior Travis Whitmore scored John Schultz on a fielder’s choice. In the fifth inning, Chester hit a home run — his seventh of the season — to score two runs.

The Panthers have won six of their last seven conference games. Their next game is an nonconference matchup with Penn State on Wednesday before a series with Big East opponent Georgetown starting on April 15.