Baseball: Panthers sweep Villanova

The Pitt baseball team continued its dominance of the Big East this weekend as the Panthers… The Pitt baseball team continued its dominance of the Big East this weekend as the Panthers swept Villanova.

Pitt (26-9, 9-3 Big East) returned from Philadelphia with three more wins as it dismantled the Wildcats (19-14, 2-10 Big East).

Pitt outscored the Wildcats 25-15 during the sweep and currently boasts a lineup of players who each sport a batting average of at least .320.

“We have swung the bats well,” head coach Joe Jordano said. “All of our hitters understood our plan, and Coach Lopaze and Coach Leahy have down a great job ensuring that our guys have understood that message and work at it everyday.”

On Friday, the No. 24-ranked Panthers won 8-5 thanks to the offensive leadership of shortstop Danny Lopez and catcher Corey Brownsten. Each went 3-for-5 at the plate, drove in a run and scored one.

Pitt trailed 4-2 entering the fourth inning after the Wildcats exploited starting pitcher Corey Baker early in the game.

But Pitt exploded for four runs in the fourth inning to take a lead that they would never relinquish. Villanova starting pitcher Brian Streilein gave up two doubles, a single and a walk all before the first out.

Villanova used a sacrifice fly to pull within a run in the seventh, but Pitt put the game away with two runs of its own in the eighth.

Baker recovered from a shaky start to earn his eighth win of the year. He pitched seven innings, giving up five runs on 10 hits. Pitcher J.R. Leonardi finished out the last two innings to earn his third save.

On Saturday, the Panthers overcame a bad defensive performance to clinch the series victory with a 12-7 win.

Pitt was led by centerfielder Zach Duggan, catcher Kevan Smith and starting pitcher Matt Iannazzo. Duggan went 4-for-5 with three RBIs, Smith went 3-for-5, scoring three times, and Iannazzo went six innings and allowed five runs, only two of which were earned.

The Panthers struck first when Joe Leonard scored on a Chester groundout in the first inning. Villanova took the lead with two unearned runs in the third due to an error by right fielder Philip Konieczny.

But then Pitt regained the lead with two runs in the fourth and one in the sixth, which were the result of Villanova errors.

In the seventh, Duggan and Schultz singles were sandwiched around a Lopez double that brought in two more runs.

When Iannazzo failed to retire the first two batters in the seventh, Leonardi replaced him. He committed an error that led to two more unearned runs.

But Pitt put the game away with six runs in the final two innings. Iannazzo registered the win to improve to 6-1, and Leonardi picked another save by pitching the final two and two-thirds innings and giving up only two runs.

In the final game of the series, the Panthers were able to overcome an early two-run deficit to win 5-3 thanks to the bat of second baseman Travis Whitmore.

Whitmore hit his first two homeruns of the year, a three-run shot and a solo, in the fourth and sixth innings to give Pitt all of the runs they needed.

Pitt scored an insurance run in the seventh when Lopez scored on a passed ball. Pitcher Cole Taylor played five innings, giving up two runs on five hits. Taylor struck out six on his way to improving his record to 3-0. Ray Black retired the last batter of the game to get the save.

The Panthers take a break from conference action to host Kent State today at 3 p.m. and then travel to Youngstown State tomorrow for another 3 p.m. matchup. Pitt will jump back into Big East play with the Backyard Brawl: Baseball Edition this weekend at West Virginia.

Pitt’s 9-3 Big East record is good enough for a tie with Louisville for third in the Big East, while Connecticut and Rutgers are tied atop the conference standings at 10-2. Pitt has already played Rutgers and Louisville, going 1-2 and 2-1 respectively, and the Panthers will play Connecticut May 1-2 at Trees Field.

“Our expectation is to play every inning of every remaining game with great passion and intensity. Period,” Jordano said.