Freshmen Brant, Conley lead Panthers in victory

Labels such as “freshman” or “sophomore” are made available just for clarification. They’re… Labels such as “freshman” or “sophomore” are made available just for clarification. They’re sometimes as deceiving as a curveball.

“I think we were freshmen back in the fall,” said left fielder Sean Conley, who is listed in the Panthers’ media guide as a freshman. “I think right now, we’re just another member of the team. Yeah, we’re young, but once you get your first at-bat, it’s like being back in high school. All you have to do is concentrate.”

Concentration was key for Conley in his first at-bat of yesterday’s 12-2 win over the Golden Flashes of Kent State. Conley, who went 3-for-5 on the day, stepped to the plate with bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first.

He readied himself at the plate, waving his bat around, taking notice of something that Kent State starting pitcher John Pacella was doing.

Immediately, Conley thought, “off-speed pitch.”

“I kind of knew it was coming,” Conley said. “I saw him fiddling with his glove and I just pulled it down the line.”

The ball squeaked into the outfield, between a diving first baseman and the foul line. Both Daniel Ford and Jim Negrych scored on Conley’s lining double, giving the Panthers an early 2-0 lead.

“I was down two strikes, just figured I’d get the bat on the ball and hit it hard,” Conley said.

And he wasn’t stuck on second base for long. The next batter, catcher Jeff Stevens, blasted a home run literally out of sight to give Pitt a five-run cushion going into the second — which was extremely helpful for freshman pitcher Robert Brant, who was making his first collegiate start.

“To have them give you runs takes a lot of pressure off you on the mound,” Brant said after the game. “I really didn’t have that much pressure on me after the first inning.”

If there was any pressure left, it was completely relieved in the bottom of the second when Pitt scored three more runs on a Negrych three-run homer, giving Brant an 8-1 advantage to work with.

Brant managed the lead as well as he managed his pitches. He struck out seven in seven innings of work. He allowed only one run in the second inning when one of his four walked batters made his way home on an RBI single from Ben Whitney.

Following the third inning, the Golden Flashes did not record another hit until the ninth when Brant, who pitched hitless ball in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, was in the dugout soaking in the victory. After the game, he said he just worked to get ahead against every batter and was happy with one of his pitches in particular.

“My fastball was my most consistent pitch today,” he said.

Head coach Joe Jordano had Brant on a pitch count and once he cracked 100, Jordano knew it was time to use the bullpen.

“We never overuse our pitchers,” Jordano said. He added about Brant going over 100 pitches, “On a day like this, that was an effortless 100 pitches.”

This was the second day in a row that Jordano has had a freshman making his first start on the mound, with Chad Baker pitching six innings in Tuesday’s 12-0 shutout of Niagara.

Jordano is confident that both pitchers will see action in Pitt’s conference games.

“They’ll see Big East time,” Jordano said. “They’re very capable.”

Conley will continue to take left field for the Panthers as Big East play continues this weekend. Pitt will be traveling to St. John’s this weekend for a three-game series, and with Conley getting his bat around, as well as Negrych and Stevens, Pitt’s offense looks ready to weather the Red Storm.

“Coach [Joel] Dombkowski does a great job with our hitters,” Jordano said. “We talk about see-a-pitch, hit-a-pitch.”

Right now, Pitt is doing both, especially the younger players, who are gaining confidence with every at-bat.

“Some of the younger guys, they have to feel comfortable,” Jordano said. “That just comes with time.”