Pitt blows past Dukes at PNC Park

After being perfect through three innings in Pitt’s 9-2 win against Duquesne on Wednesday,… After being perfect through three innings in Pitt’s 9-2 win against Duquesne on Wednesday, freshman pitcher Robert Brant gave up two runs on three hits, allowing the Dukes to tie the game.

In the very next inning, Brant found himself back on top by one run, but in another jam with the Duquesne offense threatening.

Brant hit a batter to lead off the inning, which was followed by a double, setting the table for Duquesne with two runners in scoring position and no outs.

He then recorded two of his eight strikeouts, but walked Eric Morrison to load the bases. Pitt head coach Joe Jordano called on Andrew Kuss for relief, who struck out Alex Sharick to end the inning.

Kuss went on to pitch four scoreless innings of relief, holding the Duquesne offense at just two runs for a Panther victory at PNC Park.

“We need Rob for the weekend and his pitch count was right where we wanted it to be,” Jordano said. “That was the third time around for the Dukes lineup and we thought that bringing in the right-hander in that situation was beneficial for us, and Andrew came in and got the job done.”

The Panthers (17-13 overall, 3-7 Big East) jumped out in front early by scoring a run in each of the first two innings for a 2-0 lead.

Junior Ben Copeland led off the first inning with a triple and scored a batter later when Justin Cicatello’s ground ball to short was bobbled by the shortstop.

“Copeland’s our guy at the top of the lineup,” Jordano said. “If he gets on, then we can really do some things on the base paths.”

In the second inning, freshman first baseman Dan Ford doubled to the left-center field gap and moved over to third on a Jeff Stevens single. David Cline then singled with two outs to plate Ford, giving Pitt its 2-0 lead.

Holding on to the 3-2 lead after Brant and Kuss combined to get out of the Duquesne threat, Copeland led the offense to six more runs.

He doubled to lead off the top of the seventh inning. Cicatello and Jim Negrych then reached base on a fielder’s choice and walk, respectively.

Duquesne pitcher Keith Meyer allowed Copeland and Cicatello to round all the bases by issuing back-to-back wild pitches, while Negrych scored later on a Peter Parise groundout to second base.

In the ninth inning, Copeland again ignited the Panther offense, this time for three more insurance runs. He drove a ball off the top of the right-field wall to pick up his second triple of the game.

“I was hoping it would get out of here,” Copeland said with a smile. “I knew I didn’t get enough of it. I thought I just popped up.”

Cicatello singled Copeland in directly after and moved to third when Negrych added a double for his third hit of the game.

Another double, this time off Parise’s bat, scored both Cicatello and Negrych to plate Pitt’s final runs for the 9-2 lead.

Kuss ended the game with a strikeout, the 14th of the game for him and Brant combined. The two allowed two runs on seven hits, while walking only one Duquesne batter.

Pitt resumes Big East conference play this weekend, hosting the Villanova Wildcats in a three-game series at Trees Field. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday with game one starting at noon. The third game will be played Sunday at noon.

“I thought we played very well defensively today and pitched very well. We did the things we set out to do and got the job done,” Jordano said. “But these games this weekend against Villanova are crucial for us and we’ll need to continue this strong play.”