Baseball wins 3 of 4 in Sunshine state

While Jason Bay and the Pirates toned their skills in Florida in preparation for their season,… While Jason Bay and the Pirates toned their skills in Florida in preparation for their season, Pitt big bopper Sean Conley did his best Bay impersonation last weekend in the Sunshine State.

The Pitt baseball team ventured to West Palm Beach, Fla., to compete in the Papa John’s Challenge at the end of spring break and captured three victories in four contests to raise its overall record to 6-8.

The Panthers beat Penn, Bethune-Cookman and New Jersey Tech in succession before falling to Cornell in the final game on Sunday.

The senior Conley had a monster weekend, slamming home runs in each of the first three games of the Challenge and leading the Panthers to wins in all of those affairs.

In the first three games, Conley went 8 for 12 with 10 RBIs, eight runs scored and three home runs, including a grand slam and a walk-off game-winner.

“Sean had a great week for us,” Pitt coach Joe Jordano said. “He has been seeing the ball very well and has had some huge hits for us. He is a catalyst in our lineup.”

Conley showed a flair for the dramatic when he came to the plate with Matt Litzinger on third and two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Bethune-Cookman. The Pitt left fielder’s smash over the right field wall gave the Panthers a 6-5 victory on Saturday night.

Conley paced an offensive onslaught for Pitt. The club scored 42 runs in four games.

Other Panthers pitched in, adding to the astounding statistics. Third baseman Joe Leonard went 4 for 5 against Penn with a home run, and junior Chris Warner added a long ball in the win over New Jersey Tech.

Pitt scored 17 runs on 16 hits in the 17-2 win over New Jersey Tech.

In the first game of the weekend, Pitt dismantled in-state foe Penn, 14-2, by collecting 13 hits and walking 12 times.

“I thought we did a solid job at the plate,” Jordano said. “We still have to do a better job in our plus counts and need to reduce the number of strikeouts. Overall, we are making progress.”

Not to be outdone, the Pitt pitching staff held its own in Florida. The Panthers gave up only 17 runs in the four games, with eight of them coming in an 8-5 defeat against Cornell on Sunday.

Sophomore hurler Nate Reed achieved the victory over Penn by throwing seven innings and giving up five hits and two runs while striking out seven. The win was Reed’s second of the season.

Senior Rob Brant did not figure into the decision in the late-inning triumph over Bethune-Cookman but pitched six strong innings. Brant struck out nine Wildcats and gave up three earned runs.

Relief pitcher Ricky Breymier earned his first win as a Panther by pitching a scoreless ninth against Bethune-Cookman.

But Brian Chrisman took the prize of the most impressive performance on the mound for Pitt on the weekend.

The senior left-hander pitched eight shutout innings against New Jersey Tech, striking out 10 batters without walking a single hitter. Chrisman allowed only three hits.

“Our starting pitching is doing a solid job,” Jordano said. “Reed, Brant and Chrisman have given us a chance to be in each game.”

Pitt couldn’t wrap up the Challenge undefeated however, and dropped an 8-5 decision to Ivy League member Cornell on Sunday.

The successful tournament broke a four-game losing streak for the Panthers that started the first Saturday of spring break.

Pitt dropped all three games of the Keith LeClair Invitational on March 8 and March 9 in Greenville, N.C.

The Panthers were topped by East Carolina, 10-5, in the first game. Georgia Southern knocked off Pitt in 10 innings, 3-2. Pitt concluded the tournament by falling to Michigan, No. 15 at the time, 7-0.

Pitt had no time to break, squaring off against another ranked opponent on March 11. No. 20 Central Florida defeated the Panthers, 8-2, even though Pitt outhit the Golden Knights, 14-13.

Pitt gets its next shot at victory today at Akron. After that contest, the Panthers travel to West Virginia tomorrow to open the curtain on the Big East season with a three-game series against their rivals that concludes on Saturday.