Pitt baseball sweeps Maine in season opener

Pitt baseball (3-0, 0-0 ACC) kicked off its 2024 season with a series sweep against Maine in Port Charlotte, Florida, this weekend. The Panthers’ explosive start to the season came in the form of the offensive end, where the team amassed 30 runs on the weekend.

Last season, when the Panthers faced Maine in their weekend opener, they lost the series two games to one. The Panthers took on the Black Bears a year later and flipped the script entirely, recording their first series sweep under the Mike Bell era.

In Game 1 of Friday’s doubleheader, the Panthers started swinging early. In the bottom of the first inning, senior second baseman Tyler Bischke started the season with a double down the left-field line. 

Following a pair of walks from junior first baseman Luke Cantwell and senior outfielder C.J. Funk, senior designated hitter Justin Fogel knocked in the Panthers’ run in the season with an RBI single. The Panthers finished the frame scoring on an infielder choice off the bat of junior catcher Jayden Melendez, giving Pitt an early 2-0 lead.

Later in the third inning, after going down 3-2 to the Black Bears, the Panthers’ offense exploded for five runs. After a quick line out from Bischke, Cantwell drilled a single into right field. Funk hammered a double down the line, advancing Cantwell to third. Following a Fogel walk, Melendez poked a single into right field, tying the game up at three all. Graduate student outfielder Turner Grau opened the game up, stepped up in the box and drilled an RBI double off the wall, scoring two. Sophomore shortstop Jake Kendro singled to left field, scoring both Grau and Melendez and putting the Panthers up 7-3.

The Panthers didn’t look back from the third inning, winning the first game of the double-header 10-7. Senior pitcher Matthew Fernandez took the mound in the fourth inning, where he only let up one run in relief, gaining the pitching win on the game.

In the second leg of the doubleheader, the Panthers started the game off behind early. After failing to score in the first frame, the Black Bears opened the top of the second off with a run courtesy of a sacrifice fly from senior third baseman Jake Marquez. The Panthers answered back, tying the game up in the bottom of the fourth frame with Fogel stealing home on a wild pitch. 

The Panthers caught some offensive life in the bottom of the sixth inning. Funk started the frame, drilling a double into the left field gap. After a wild pitch that moved Funk to third, Melendez drove Funk in with a flyout to left, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead. After the Black Bears quickly took back the lead in the top of the seventh, first-year infielder Ryan Zuckerman recorded his first collegiate hit in style, blasting a huge home run into the right field seats. 

After senior center fielder Dom Popa reached base on an error, Cantwell gave the Panthers the 4-3 lead with a single up the middle. The Panthers would go on to win game 2 with a final score of 7-4, with first-year pitcher Aidan Coleman recording his first collegiate win on the mound.

On Saturday, the Panthers’ offensive attack was on full display. Luke Cantwell had a monster day at the plate, smashing two homers for the Panthers. Pitt combined six extra-base hits on the day, with four of them coming in the form of doubles from Bischke, Fogel, Melendez and Zuckerman. Pitt went on to win 13-3, with junior lefty Ethan Firoved recording the win.

The Panthers will return to action when they travel to play in the Kleberg Bank College Classic next week in Corpus Christi, Texas. They will face Washington, Maryland and Texas A&M.