Panthers take game one late

Pitt and West Virginia entered last weekend’s series tied in the Big East baseball standings,… Pitt and West Virginia entered last weekend’s series tied in the Big East baseball standings, and a run for the final spot in the Big East tournament by either team needed to start then.

Each team brought the intensity that the Backyard Brawl brews between the two schools and helped produce what Pitt head coach Joe Jordano described as “the most dramatic” game of the year.

But it was Pitt who outlasted the Mountaineers in the first game on Saturday, edging out a 6-5, come-from-behind victory in its last at bats.

Trailing 5-4, heading into the final frame, West Virginia starting pitcher Marty Fagler recorded two quick outs, inching closer to victory.

Jimmy Mayer had other ideas, though. He singled and was followed by a Jim Negrych, who doubled, putting runners in scoring position, including the winning run on second base for Peter Parise.

The Mountaineers replaced Fagler on the hill with closer Todd Dunham, who threw a breaking pitch that Parise waited on for a single, scoring both runs for a Panther win in game one of the doubleheader.

“Our report on Dunham was that he was 70 percent curveball or slider,” Jordano said. “Peter was looking for that breaking pitch. He got it and got the hit.”

The comeback was a long one for the Panthers, as the Mountaineers took advantage of a walk and an error during the first three innings of play and used the long ball to accumulate a large lead before Pitt got on the scoreboard.

With one run in the first, West Virginia catcher David Carpenter added to the lead in the second inning, connecting with a solo home run for a 2-0 lead.

Not to be outdone by his teammate, Stan Posluszny hit a two-run homer in the third inning, his fourth home run in the last five games and his ninth of the season. Doug Nelms also delivered a solo shot later in the inning for a 5-0 Mountaineer lead.

Billy Muldowney, Pitt’s starting pitcher, escaped his early troubles to shut out West Virginia in the final four innings, earning his fourth win of the season. He struck out 11 batters in the effort.

“Every time he came in for the inning, I told him to just give us a chance to win, and he did,” Jordano said of Muldowney. “I was very pleased with the character he showed in that game.”

The Panthers scored their first run in the third inning when Dan Williams scored as Mayer grounded into a double play.

Dan Ford reached base in the fifth and scored on Big East Player of the Week David Cline’s triple. Junior Ben Copeland then knocked in Cline with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 5-3 score.

Pitt picked up one more run in the sixth before heading into the final inning down by only a run, setting up Parise’s game-winning hit and the tone for the rest of the series.

“That was a phenomenal game,” Jordano said. “I just had a feeling. I told them to keep battling and keep fighting. We were going to get our chances.”

Fagler suffered the loss for West Virginia, lowering his record to 4-2. He allowed six runs on eight hits while striking out five and walking four.

“We had to win and we went out and did what we had to do,” Jordano said.