Offense leads the way as Panthers sweep Georgetown

The Pitt Panthers (31-20 overall, 15-10 Big East) baseball team capped off its amazing… The Pitt Panthers (31-20 overall, 15-10 Big East) baseball team capped off its amazing turnaround in the Big East conference over the weekend, sweeping the Georgetown Hoyas (25-31, 7-18) in a three-game series to finish in fourth place in the Big East.

Pitt rode the arms of staff aces Billy Muldowney and Robert Brant to wins in two of the games, while a four-RBI performance from Ben Copeland helped propel the Panthers to victory in the other.

Pitt 6, Georgetown 1

In game one of the series, freshman pitcher Brant continued his strong season, holding the Hoyas to just three hits and one run for a complete game win.

Pitt took the lead early, plating a run in the bottom of the first inning for a 1-0 advantage. The Panthers then used offensive surges to post two runs in each of the third and fifth innings, highlighted by a Jim Negrych two-run homer in the third.

Negrych finished the game 2-for-4, scoring two runs and driving in four more after adding his second home run of the game in the seventh, a solo shot over the center field fence.

Georgetown managed a run in the last inning when Ryan Craft hit a solo homer, but it was too little, too late as Brant struck out the final batter swinging to end the game.

Pitt 9, Georgetown 5

Down 2-0 heading into the fifth inning, Pitt’s offense broke out for four runs, and then added two more in the sixth. They never looked look back on the way to a 9-5 win that clinched a sweep of the doubleheader.

With the bases loaded in the fifth, Copeland knocked a triple down the line in left field, plating Pitt’s first three runs of the game.

Edgard Sucre contributed to the offense with a home run that scored Peter Parise in the sixth inning. The Panthers finished off their scoring with three more runs in the seventh as Dan Williams, Copeland and Negrych all hit solo homers.

Andrew Kuss worked six innings to record the win for the Panthers. Shaun Butler notched his third save of the season, pitching three scoreless innings and striking out six batters.

Pitt 5, Georgetown 2

Muldowney pitched six and one-third innings and struck out a career-high 12 batters in the third game of the series for his sixth consecutive Big East win.

Pitt entered the third inning trailing 1-0, but Negrych delivered a two-run homer, his 14th of the season and fourth of the series, for a 2-1 Pitt lead.

Copeland added another two-run blast to the mix with his eighth home run of the season in the sixth inning. He and Negrych finished the game a combined 3-for-7 with two runs scored and four RBIs.

Paul Nardozzi picked up the save for the Panthers, pitching the final two and two-thirds innings. He held the Hoyas scoreless on one hit, striking out two and walking one.

Starting the season 1-6 in conference matchups put the Panthers at the bottom of the standings early in the year, but wins in 14 of their last 18 games secured them a spot in the Big East tournament for the second consecutive year.

The Panthers begin their quest for a Big East championship Thursday at 7 p.m. when they meet up with the No. 1-seeded St. John’s Red Storm at Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J. The Red Storm swept their season series against Pitt earlier this year.