Freshmen propel Panthers

Career firsts are good.

Career firsts that win games are better.

Morgan Kielty hit his… Career firsts are good.

Career firsts that win games are better.

Morgan Kielty hit his first collegiate grand slam and Rob Lawler followed with his first career home run to put the exclamation point on an eight-run sixth inning that led Pitt to a 10-6 win over Akron Wednesday night.

The Panthers (15-20) trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth. After Akron starter Stephen Williams, Jr. walked Lawler to lead off the frame, he was pulled in favor of Jeremy Goldizen.

Goldizen’s first batter was Peter Parise, and the Pitt rightfielder beat out a sacrifice bunt and advanced to second on a throwing error. Sean Conley followed with a single, and Seth Button doubled to knock in Lawler and Parise, giving Pitt a 5-4 lead.

After two straight outs, Jimmy Mayer and Jim Negrych both worked walks to load the bases. Akron coach Pat Bangtson brought on Frank Turocy to face Kielty, and the freshman put the game out of reach.

He launched his fourth home run of the season, his first career grand slam. Lawler came to the plate next and blasted one over the light tower in left-center field at Trees Field, making sure his first collegiate home run was a memorable one.

With the win, the Panthers have now scored 25 runs in their last two games, both non-league affairs against Mid-American Conference foes. (They defeated Ohio 15-1 on Tuesday.) The team has also played two straight games of error-free baseball, giving head coach Joe Jordano the kind of all-around game that he has been looking for his team to produce.

“Every day we come to practice, we say all the things are going to start going our way today,” he said.

In the last two games, they have. The offense has been hitting, and the defense has been keeping pace.

With the game tied at two in the top of the sixth, Doug McNulty doubled to lead off and scored when Vince Chiera followed with a double of his own. Brett Savage singled to chase Rossi, and Jordano brought in Bobby Bell.

Bell’s first batter, Matt Roberts, hit a grounder to the shortstop. As Mayer flipped to Negrych, Chiera took off for home. Rather than completing the conventional double play, Negrych fired to the plate to nail Chiera, and Bell struck out Ryan Frazee to end the inning and set the stage for the offense in the bottom half of the inning.

“He’s a baseball player,” Jordano said of his five-tool second baseman. “He has such a great sense of the game that he makes throws like that.”

Akron answered in the top of the seventh, getting a two-run homer from Scott Gunn and then loading the bases. Rashard Graves pinch-hit for Savage and grounded deep in the hole on the left side. Mayer tracked it down and threw across his body to second to get Chiera on a very close play — one that had Bangtson out of the dugout to talk to the field umpire a split-second after Chiera was called out.

A run scored on the fielder’s choice, but Jordano brought in Justin Cicatello, who got a strikeout to end the threat. He threw a perfect inning and a third before coming out in favor of Kyle Landis. Landis continued to establish himself as an effective closer, pitching a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for the Panthers. The three Pitt relievers logged five strikeouts in four innings.

Akron got an early 2-0 lead on the Panthers. Chiera got the Zips on the board. With the bases loaded, he stroked a two-out, two-run single.

“We got down tonight, and it’s like, ‘Here we go again,'” Jordano said. “[But] Anthony settled down a little bit. He did a good job for us.”

Pitt got on the board in the third. With runners on first and second, Cline put down a bunt. Akron catcher Kurt Davidson fielded it, but he threw the ball away, allowing Button to score from second. Negrych knocked another run in two batters later when he grounded out to first, allowing Muldowney to score.

The Panthers get back to work tonight against South Florida in the first game of a three-game series. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Trees Field.