Baseball sweeps Nova for winning record

Pitt baseball’s series sweep of Villanova this weekend, culminating with a third-game… Pitt baseball’s series sweep of Villanova this weekend, culminating with a third-game comeback, put the Panthers above .500 for the season.

Head coach Joe Jordano was happy with his team’s performance.

“We had three comebacks in a row, I was very impressed with that,” he said after Sunday’s 6-5 victory. “And obviously Villanova gave us some opportunities but we took advantage of it.

“Anytime you sweep in the Big East conference is a very, very big thing, and I’m glad to be on this side of it.”

The Panthers (19-16, 11-6 Big East) next face non-conference opponent New York Tech in a three-game series next weekend at Trees Field.

Pitt 11, Villanova 6

Kicking off the three-game series on Friday, the Panthers came from behind to rally for five runs in the sixth inning, leading them to an 11-6 victory.

Leading the way for the team was sophomore Morgan Kielty with four RBIs. The designated hitter went 2-4 in the game. Seth Button went 3-4 with one run and was one of eight Panthers tallying two or more hits.

Villanova (18-18, 5-10 Big East) led 3-0 with three home runs going into the fifth inning. Before the Wildcats could add a fourth homer, the Panthers put themselves on the board with two outs when Button ripped a double into center field, and Dan Williams hit him home with a single to right center.

In the fifth inning, the Panthers continued to light up the scoreboard, earning three more runs from five consecutive singles from the top of their lineup, making the score 4-4.

After their five-run rally in the sixth, the Panthers led 9-5. Gary Bucuren sent a two-RBI triple into center field followed by Jordan Herr, who drove him in with a double. Bucuren and Herr lead the Panthers with averages .336 and .316, respectively.

In the eighth inning, Kielty sent his fourth RBI to left center, sending right-fielder Peter Parise home. For his second RBI of the day, Williams scored Kielty with a single, leaving the score at 11-6.

Starter Rob Brant pitched four innings with eight strikeouts and only one walk. His reliever, Kyle Landis, counted five strikeouts in his three innings. It was Wildcats’ starter Mike Loree’s first loss of the season.

Pitt 8, Villanova 7

Senior Paul Nardozzi pitched five innings for the Panthers, giving up seven runs on seven hits. He struck out six batters, leaving him just four strikeouts away from Pitt’s career record of 239.

With four runs off of two homers in the first inning, the Wildcats followed with another run in the second inning, leading 5-0.

They didn’t hold the Panthers at zero runs for long, though. Scoring their first four batters, the Panthers drove in six runs in one inning to make the score 6-5. Kielty tallied a double, brining in two of those runs.

Tying it up in the third, Villanova had an RBI to make it 6-6.

The Panthers pulled ahead again in the third inning to take the advantage at 8-6 when Mullins sent a triple into right center, bringing Williams home. Parise then sent Mullins home with a single.

Villanova scored one last run in the fifth off a sacrifice fly to make the score 8-7, but the Panthers held the Wildcats for the rest of the game.

Mullins and Kielty both tallied two RBIs and two hits for the day.

Pitt 6, Villanova 5

Pitt came back from behind, once again, in its third game to finish off the series yesterday. Going into the sixth inning, Villanova with a 5-3 advantage, Pitt started its comeback.

Forcing Villanova to go through four pitchers in that inning, the Panthers scored three runs, making the score 6-5, where it stayed for the rest of the game.

“Villanova’s got some good guys coming out of the [bullpen],” Jordano commented. “But we knew going into this game that if we could get into their bullpen it might benefit us.”

Kielty singled in a pressure-filled situation with two outs and three runners on base. Two errors from Villanova added to Kielty’s single pulled the Panthers ahead for the win, ending the series in victory.