Brian Weaver Assistant Sports Editor

For the first time since 1995, Pitt’s baseball team… Brian Weaver Assistant Sports Editor

For the first time since 1995, Pitt’s baseball team appeared in the Big East Championship Game. Here’s the story of how they got there.

Opponent: Seton Hall

Series: 1-1 Draw

Pitt Big East Record: 1-1

The Skinny: The Panthers score 19 runs on 17 hits in the opener, but manage just five hits in the nightcap. Ben Copeland and Jim Negrych each have four hits and five RBIs in game one. The Panthers leave 21 men on base in the two games.

Opponent: Rutgers

Series: 2-0 Rutgers

Big East Record: 1-3

The Skinny: Negrych hits two doubles in game one, but walks hurt the Panthers in both games. The Scarlet Knights use free passes to manufacture most of their runs. Three costly errors in the nightcap seal Pitt’s fate. Had the Panthers ended up tied with Rutgers at the end of the year — as very nearly happened — the tiebreaker would have been this series.

Opponent: St. John’s

Series: 3-0 St. John’s

Big East Record: 1-6

The Skinny: Rock bottom for the Panthers. Three losses, all in games they feasibly could have won. Pitt makes six errors in the series. The pitching staff allows just two, three and four runs in games one, two and three, respectively. The offense is silent, however, and gives no support to the pitching effort. Pitt’s bats manage just four runs in the series behind a .141 average, striking out 34 times along the way. Muldowney loses the opener; he won’t lose again until the Big East Tournament.

Opponent: Connecticut

Series: 2-1 Pitt

Big East Record: 3-7

The Skinny: The turnaround begins. Pitt steals two of three close games in Storrs, Conn., notching nine or more hits in each contest. After splitting a doubleheader on day one, the Panthers trail game three 6-0 before exploding for nine runs in the top of the eighth inning. Dan Williams has two hits and two RBIs in the inning to pace the offense.

Opponent: Villanova

Series: 2-1 Pitt

Big East Record: 5-8

The Skinny: Pitt mounts comebacks in each of the first two games, dropping game two in extra innings after winning the opener. The Panthers win the rubber match to take a series that features a tense, bench-clearing brawl; controversial umpiring; two coaching ejections and more four-letter expletives than a conversation with Billy Martin. The second win is the 500th of head coach Joe Jordano’s collegiate career.

Opponent: West Virginia

Series: 3-0 Pitt

Big East Record: 8-8

The Skinny: Two comebacks pace the sweep. Pitt pitchers strike out 36 batters in the series, holding the Mountaineers at bay as the Panthers mount rallies in their final at-bats of games one and three. Muldowney throws a complete game in game one, striking out 11. Not to be outdone, Robert Brant throws a complete game of his own in game two, striking out 12.

Opponent: Boston College

Series: 2-1 Pitt

Big East Record: 10-9

The Skinny: The offense collects just four extra-base hits in the three game series, but needs no more. Pitt’s bats touch BC ace Mike Wlodarczyk for seven runs in six innings in the opener, snapping his nine-game winning streak and setting the tone for the series. The defense turns four double plays to help the pitching staff hold BC to just seven runs in the series.

Opponent: Notre Dame

Series: 2-1 Pitt

Big East Record: 12-10

The Skinny: In front of a capacity crowd at Trees Field, the Panthers don’t disappoint. Brant follows Muldowney’s complete game in the opener with a complete game of his own. Negrych and Jeff Stevens both homer in game one, and Negrych and Copeland both hit home runs in game two. Pitt’s defense makes four errors in the nightcap, but the miscues don’t hurt the Panthers. Notre Dame thumps Pitt in game three, 21-1, a sign of things to come.

Opponent: Georgetown

Series: 3-0 Pitt

Big East Record: 15-10

The Skinny: Pitt finishes the conference season in a big way. Georgetown intentionally walks 14 Panthers in the three-game series in an attempt to stop the offensive onslaught, but to no avail. The Panthers hit six doubles, a triple, and eight home runs in the series, giving a cushion for their pitchers to work with. The staff strikes out 35 on the weekend. The sweep clinches fourth place for the Panthers, giving them their second consecutive berth in the Big East tournament.

Opponents: St. John’s, Notre Dame (twice), Boston College

Tournament Record: 2-2

Big East Finish: Second place

The Skinny: Pitt’s season ends with both bangs and whimpers. The Pitt offense gets on the board quickly against top seed St. John’s in game one, neutralizing Red Storm closer and Big East Pitcher of the Year Craig Hansen. Notre Dame then sends Pitt to the losers’ bracket with a 4-2 victory. Three of the game’s six runs are unearned as errors plague both teams. Pitt bounces back against Boston College, as Andrew Kuss and Paul Nardozzi match Eagle pitchers Nate Jeanes and Kevin Boggan pitch-for-pitch in a game that stays tied at one until the 12th. Negrych’s error lets in a BC run in the top of the inning, but the second baseman redeems himself, hitting a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the frame to set up another showdown with the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame builds a 6-0 lead and never looks back, winning the game 11-4, and taking the tournament for the fifth consecutive year.