Pitt beats Dukes, falls to Penn State

The Pitt baseball team rebounded on Tuesday with a 9-8 victory over crosstown rival Duquesne,… The Pitt baseball team rebounded on Tuesday with a 9-8 victory over crosstown rival Duquesne, ending its five-game losing streak, but lost yesterday to Penn State, 6-5, at Trees Field.

Coming off the losing streak, one in which Pitt scored nine runs in five games, coach Joe Jordano saw the offensive outburst as a key to moving forward toward the latter part of Pitt’s schedule.

“We’ve been focused on executing our offensive philosophy,” Jordano said, “This [offensive performance against Duquesne] was good to at least start swinging the bats a little bit.”

The Panthers (9-18, 2-7 Big East) had five players with two or more hits and banged out a combined 14 hits in the game against the Dukes.

Senior outfielder Sean Conley launched his seventh and eighth home runs of the season, both over the left field wall, on his way to collecting four RBIs in the contest.

Junior second baseman Chris Tonte railed his first home run of the season, a two-run shot on his way to a 3-for-4 effort at the plate.

Against a well-hitting Dukes squad, Pitt starter Corey Baker pitched four and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits and striking out one.

“Duquesne is one of the best offensive teams we’ve faced this year,” Jordano said, “They pounded the ball.”

Freshman David Kaye looked brilliant in relief, allowing only one run on three hits and striking out three in three innings of work.

Pitt’s offensive explosion immediately launched off the first pitch Duquesne starter Joe Lombardo threw in the bottom of the first. Conley hit his first home run, a towering fly ball to left field that carried over the wall, to give the Panthers the early edge.

Baker flew through the next two innings, allowing only one hit, a single to Derek Falleckar.

Likewise, Pitt could not muster any scoring off of Lombardo until the bottom of the third when sophomore Danny Lopez belted a pitch to the right-center gap and hustled to slide into third just under the tag for a one-out triple.

After a Nick Mullins walk, first-baseman Dan Williams beat out a grounder to short, scoring Lopez from third and giving Pitt a 2-0 advantage.

Duquesne (13-13, 8-1) rallied back in the top of the fourth when left-fielder Mike Carroll drew a lead-off walk and Baker pegged designated hitter Pat Kimutis. After a sacrifice bunt, the Dukes’ Bill Torre singled to bring in Caroll and cut the Panthers lead to one. Falleckar then erased the lead by bombing a three-run home run to left field, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Dukes.

Not to be outdone, the Panthers responded in the bottom of the fourth when Conley stepped up and launched his second home run of the day, a three-run shot to left field, after back-to-back singles by Tonte and right fielder John Schultz.

Lopez shot a double down the right-field line and Mullins singled him in to cap a four-run bottom of the fourth to give Pitt a 6-4 lead.

The back-and-forth trend continued in the top of the fifth as Duquesne manufactured three runs on an RBI double, ground out and sacrifice fly to chase Baker from the game. Pitt reliever David Kaye replaced Baker and finished off the inning with a fly out to second.

The Panthers responded yet again with two more runs on Tonte’s blast to left field off Dukes’ reliever Lawrence Anderson to gain an 8-7 advantage.

After a scoreless sixth for both teams, the Dukes pushed across the tying run in the top of the seventh on a Torre sacrifice grounder to Lopez at short.

After a scoreless Panthers’ seventh, the Dukes threatened to grab the lead in the top of the eighth. After recording two quick outs, Kaye gave up a single and a walk and was yanked in favor of junior Ricky Breymier.

Breymier plunked the first batter on his first delivery to load the bases with two outs. The Dukes’ Mark Tracy tagged a Breymier pitch to center field but it wasn’t out of the reach of Jordan Herr, who caught the ball to hold the Dukes scoreless in the inning.

Halting the rally ignited the Pitt bench. With his teammates chattering him on, Lopez drew a walk and stole second and third with Mullins at the plate. After the game, Jordano said he gave Lopez the green light when he noticed Duquesne reliever Matt Zarin was a little bit slow to the plate.

“We need to steal bases,” Jordano added, “That’s something we have to do, especially when you’re struggling at the plate.”

Mullins delivered, lining a single through the hole on the left side of the infield to plate Lopez.

Breymier shut down the ninth to secure the 9-8 Panthers victory and earn his second win of the season. The loss was charged to Duquesne reliever Matt Zarin.

Pitt takes to the road this weekend for a three-game series against Big East foe Cincinnati, currently third in the Big East, and gets a rematch against the Dukes next Wednesday at PNC Park.