Baseball moves to second in Big East

The Pitt men’s baseball team won five out of seven Big East games to move into a tie with… The Pitt men’s baseball team won five out of seven Big East games to move into a tie with Notre Dame for second place in the conference. The Panthers (28-12 overall, 12-5 Big East) are a game and a half out of first place with a three-game series against Seton Hall awaiting them this weekend.

The Panthers are sitting so high in the standings because they swept Notre Dame at home in a two-game series on April 25. Notre Dame (35-9, 12-5) was ranked No. 4 before the games were played.

Pitt also won one of two against Georgetown in comeback fashion. Head coach Joe Jordano considers Georgetown one of the most improved teams in the conference and said it was a big accomplishment for his team to come back and win game one.

Pitt 6, Georgetown 5

The Panthers stole the first game of the doubleheader against the Hoyas (24-29, 7-16) on April 23 at Trees Field with back-to-back home runs in the final inning.

Trailing 5-1, Pitt stepped up to the plate for its final three at bats. Peter Parise started the inning off with a walk and advanced to second after Mike Scanzano grounded out to third. Parise would score on a single from Alex Rybczak. After Ben Copeland singled, the Panthers had men on first and third with two outs. Bryan Spamer, with Pitt down by three runs, blasted the ball deep over the fence in left field to tie the game.

Jim Negrych followed Spamer’s smash with one of his own, hitting the ball over that same left field fence to make the score 6-5.

Georgetown 2, Pitt 1

The Panthers found themselves trailing at the start of the final inning of the second game as well, but they were unable to duplicate the heroics they displayed in game one.

Scanzano had a chance to tie the game with two men on and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but fell short as he grounded out to the short stop.

Mike Zambriczki tightened the gap to 2-1 when he hit a solo home run on the first pitch of the eighth inning.

The Panthers managed only four hits in the game, with three of them coming in the eighth and ninth innings.

Andrew Kuss (3-3) was dealt the loss in the game. He struck out five Hoyas in seven innings of work.

Pitt 8, Notre Dame 6

Notre Dame scored five runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings to tie the game at five, but Pitt fired back in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to take an 8-5 lead.

Scanzano hit an RBI single to give the Panthers a one run lead. Notre Dame reliever Joe Thaman forced in two more runs after dealing two walks to Panthers with the bases loaded.

Spamer went 2-for-4 in the game with two runs scored. Parise highlighted the game batting 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Pitt 7, Notre Dame 6

Another ninth-inning rally allowed Pitt to sweep the Irish at Trees Field. The Panthers scored four runs in the final inning to walk away with a 7-6 victory.

The Panthers trailed 6-3 heading into the ninth inning. Parise was issued a walk to start the inning. A single from Scanzano and a pitch that hit Zambriczki loaded the bases with Panthers. With one out, Copeland smacked a two-run double into left field. Spamer singled to tie the game and the winning run was scored when Notre Dame pitcher Dan Kapala threw a wild pitch that allowed Copeland to run home and Pitt to walk off with a win.

Hiser and Tom Cashman each hit solo home runs in the game.

Kent State 8, Pitt 7

The Panthers traveled to Kent State on April 28 to play one game. Pitt won 3-1 when the two teams met earlier in the season on March 31. Kent State (24-21), however, brought the offense with them in this match up, collecting an 8-7 win over Pitt.

The Panthers rallied late to tie the game at seven, but Kent State’s Chad Kinyon spoiled Pitt’s hard work with a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the ninth.

Copeland finished the game 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI’s. He was a home run away from the cycle as he recorded two singles, a double and a triple.

Pitt 14, Villanova 2

Pitt traveled to Plymouth Meeting, Pa. on April 30 to take on Villanova (25-18-1, 7-13) in a three-game series. The Panthers tallied 14 runs on 18 hits to hand Villanova a loss in game one.

Panther starting pitcher Nick Evangelista (6-1) pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs on five hits. He struck out nine wildcats in the victory.

Pitt started the offense early and never stopped, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning.

Negrych went 4-for-5 in the game with two runs scored and an RBI. He also recorded a stolen base.

Rybczak collected a game-high five RBI’s as he went 2-for-4 from the plate.

Hiser added to the offense with his 14th home run of the season.

Pitt 11, Villanova 9

The second game of the double header took 11 innings to decide. Pitt tallied two runs in the top of the 11th inning to win the game.

Copeland tripled to left center to send home Tony Marciante, giving Pitt the one-run lead. Copeland would later score an insurance run when Spamer hit a single.

The Panthers held a 9-6 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, but pitcher Eli Friedman allowed three runs to tie the game. Hiser came in to pitch the remainder of the inning. He kept the Wildcats from scoring anymore and collected his fifth win of the season. Hiser allowed only one hit in his three innings of work. Hiser also hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning.

Spamer went 4-for-7 with three RBI’s in the game.

Villanova 8, Pitt 5

On May 1, Pitt looked to finish the three-game series at Villanova with a sweep, but fell short after the Wildcats posted five runs in the sixth inning to open up a 7-2 lead.

Pitt started off the scoring when Negrych led off the second inning with a single up the middle. Scanzano would later send Negrych home for the 1-0 lead on his single. Cashman led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to extend Pitt’s lead to 2-0. The Wildcats would tie the game up in the bottom half of the fourth.

The Panthers made a run in the ninth inning, when Copeland reached on an error scoring pinch runner Jim Mayer. With runners on second and third, Spamer hit a single to center field scoring both base runners.

The Wildcats made a pitching change and brought in Mike Ciccotalli who retired the next three Panther batters giving Villanova the 8-5 victory.