Florida trip a success for Panthers with 6 victories

Florida is among the common hot spots for spring break, but for the Pitt baseball team, it was a… Florida is among the common hot spots for spring break, but for the Pitt baseball team, it was a spot for competition. This past week, Pitt entered the Papa John’s Classic hoping to wipe away the memories from a 1-3 start to its season. Six victories later, the mission was accomplished. ‘ After a 6-2 record at the Papa John’s Classic, Pitt improved its record to 7-5 on the season, a resurgence that could propel the Panthers to a successful mid-season run. Pitt plays eight of its next nine games in a two-week span at home at familiar Trees Field. Highlighting the Papa John’s Classic was Pitt’s performance in the tournament’s opener against St. Bonaventure. The game needed extra innings before coming to a close, and Pitt prevailed 12-8 in 11 innings. Third baseman Joe Leonard went a strong 4 for 6 and drove in three runs to lead the way for Pitt. The Panthers controlled most of the game, but an eighth-inning collapse nearly proved costly, as St. Bonaventure rallied for five runs and took an 8-7 lead. After a ninth-inning Pitt run tied the score, the Panthers took the momentum into extra innings, as Pitt stormed with four 11th-inning runs and sealed itself a victory. Showing signs of invincibility, Pitt won its next three games as well, before falling to Miami 11-6 in the only contest that did not fall under the Papa John’s Classic. Then came the lopsided defeat to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes fired off 20 runs against the Panthers and won 20-3. After taking an early 2-0 lead, Pitt collapsed. Despite striking out six Ohio State batters, pitcher Nate Reed gave up seven runs, five of which were earned, on nine Ohio State hits. Reed’s day was cut short after 5 1/3 innings of competition. The bright spot against the Buckeyes for Pitt was the play of junior infielder Chris Sedon. He went 3 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. After 10 games, Sedon is batting .465 (20 for 43) and leads the team in slugging percentage at .744. Pitt brushed off the loss with another winning streak, defeating Long Island and North Dakota State in a doubleheader. The Panthers look to continue their hot streak at Youngstown State this afternoon at 3 p.m. The team then picks up with its first Big East games of the season with a three-game series this weekend at Trees Field against Cincinnati.