Pitt sweeps WVU in twin-bill

Pitt starting pitchers P.J. Hiser and Nick Evangelista combined to strike out 17 Mountaineers… Pitt starting pitchers P.J. Hiser and Nick Evangelista combined to strike out 17 Mountaineers in two wins at West Virginia on Saturday — including a 2-0 shutout in game one.

“[If] we don’t make an error in the bottom of the eighth, we throw two shutouts,” head coach Joe Jordano said.

The two wins on Saturday made up for Pitt’s two losses at Rutgers on Thursday, however, the losses moved Pitt (19-8 overall, 7-3 Big East) down to fourth place in the Big East behind Notre Dame, Rutgers and St. John’s.

Rutgers 4, Pitt 0

Rutgers pitcher Jack Egbert collected his fifth win of the season with seven scoreless innings of work against the Panthers in game one of two on Thursday. Pitt managed only three hits in the game — two of which came from the first two Panther batters.

“Rutgers just had some solid pitching,” Jordano said.

The Scarlet Knights’ bats, however, were on fire, as they smoked Panther pitching for 12 hits, including two doubles and a home run, in the game.

Rutgers (16-13, 8-2) started its scoring in the first inning when Rich Canuso doubled in a run and later came home on a single by Johnny Defendis.

Jeff Frazier added to Rutgers 2-0 lead when he led off the third inning with a solo home run. Rutgers tacked on another run in the fourth inning when Jeff Grose hit an RBI-single.

Rutgers 8, Pitt 5

The bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the difference in game two of the doubleheader against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights tallied three runs in the inning to defeat Pitt 8-5.

The top four batters in the Panther line-up accounted for all five runs. Hiser was responsible for two runs, including his 11th home run of the season.

Adam Luckette came in to pitch after starting pitcher T.J. Gornati walked Rutgers’ second baseman Graig Badger with one out in the bottom of the sixth inning. After a single into right field, and another walk, Luckette was in a jam with the bases loaded. Two singles, one by Canuso and the other by Gaynor, allowed three Rutgers’ base runners to cross home plate and give the Scarlet Knights an 8-4 lead.

The Panthers added only one more run in the eighth inning, when Jim Negrych scored on an RBI single hit by third baseman Mike Scanzano.

Pitt 2, West Virginia 0

Evangelista won his fourth game of the season, striking out 10 Mountaineers (9-20, 1-9) to lead the Panthers to a 2-0 shutout win at Hawley Field on Saturday. In his seven scoreless innings of work, Evangelista walked on one batter and gave up five hits, as he recorded his second complete game of the season. The game’s only runs came in the fifth and sixth inning.

In the fifth inning, Negrych crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly from Ben Copeland. Scanzano scored the second Panther run on a fielder’s choice in the sixth inning, but Jordano holds that only one run was needed.

“The way [Evangelista] was pitching, one run was enough,” Jordano said.

Pitt 7, West Virginia 2

West Virginia recorded 10 hits in game two, but the Panthers only allowed two Mountaineers to score in their 7-2 victory.

The Panthers held a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning when West Virginia finally scored on a Panther error. Hiser struck out seven and confused several batters with his pitch selection.

“He [throws] his change up especially well,” Jordano said.

Hiser also contributed at the plate, as he went one-for-two with an RBI and a run scored. The Panthers, as a team, hit four doubles in the game.

The Panthers will travel to Akron for their next game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Their next Big East match up will be on April 23 against Georgetown.