Pitt takes pair from Seton Hall

A three-game winning streak propelled the Panther baseball team into Big East action this past… A three-game winning streak propelled the Panther baseball team into Big East action this past weekend when they traveled to New Jersey to take on the Seton Hall Pirates.

The Panthers, who finished their spring schedule winning five of six games, took two out of three from the Pirates, nearly logging a sweep. The Panthers (10-8 overall, 2-1 Big East) started the series with a split on Friday and Saturday, then used the tough loss as motivation to take the series with a win on Sunday.

“There is such a high expectation for our program that we put on ourselves and any time you lose a game that you had a good opportunity to win, it is disappointing,” head coach Joe Jordano said. “I know it was a very quiet ride back to the hotel after that game.”

Pitt 8, Seton Hall 3

The Panthers started out the Big East season with a win on Friday night behind the arm of Big East Pre-season Pitcher of the Year Billy Muldowney. The right-hander struck out 12 hitters in eight and one-third innings of work, allowing six hits and just one earned run.

The Panthers blew the game open with four runs in the fifth after trailing 1-0 through the first four innings. After Seth Button walked and Dan Williams singled, Jeff Stevens sacrificed the runners along, moving Button to third and Williams to second. David Cline promptly followed with a single to score Button, and Williams followed him home on a passed ball. Cline eventually came around to score on Brian Muldowney’s double. Sean Conley followed with a single up the middle to score Muldowney and give the Panthers a 4-1 lead.

Muldowney, Conley, Cline, Williams and Jim Negrych all had two hits a piece for the Panthers while Muldowney had a team leading two RBIs.

Seton Hall 2, Pitt 1

A pitchers’ duel turned to heartbreak for the Panthers as each team was scoreless until the eighth inning. The Panthers took a 1-0 lead, only to allow two runs in the bottom of the ninth for their first conference loss of the season.

In the top of the eighth, Jimmy Mayer walked and Jim Negrych followed with an RBI double to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Peter Parise singled, moving Negrych to third, but was then caught stealing. Dan Williams and Jeff Stevens both struck out, leaving an insurance run on the basepaths.

The stranded runner came back to haunt the Panthers in the bottom of the ninth inning. Leading 1-0, Panther starter Robert Brant allowed a double to Mark Pappas and then walked Brandon Cohen, who was replaced by John Callandrello at first base. A passed ball allowed the runners to move up to second and third base before Dan McDonald doubled them both home for a walk-off Pirate win.

Brant was stellar in his eight and one-third innings, allowing four hits and two runs – only one of which was earned – while walking three and striking out seven.

Pitt 8, Seton Hall 1

The Panthers took the deciding third game of the series behind the arm of pitcher Paul Nardozzi, who has been nothing short of spectacular early on this season. Nardozzi went the distance on the mound for the Panthers, allowing seven hits and one run while walking one and striking out seven.

“What Paul is doing is commanding three pitches,” Jordano said. “He is spotting his fastball well, throwing his curveball for strikes and his changeup for strikes. Anytime you do that, it is going to cause hitters trouble.”

The Panthers scored single runs in the first, fourth, fifth and eighth innings before adding four runs in the top of the ninth. Jimmy Mayer and Jim Negrych each had two hits and drove in two runs while Brian Muldowney had two hits and scored two runs for the Panthers.

Nardozzi looked to have a shutout coming his way, but in the bottom of the ninth he allowed a solo home run to Cohen, putting the Pirates on the board.

Notes- The Panthers’ game against Cleveland State scheduled for this afternoon has been cancelled-The Panthers will host Duquesne at Trees Field on Wednesday, with Anthony Rossi scheduled to start on the mound-Negrych leads the team with a .357 batting average and 15 RBIs-Nardozzi has now thrown 39 innings on the season, allowing just five earned runs for a 1.15 ERA and a 4-1 record-