Pitt swept away by the Storm

The Pitt baseball team’s lack of run production resulted in a three-game sweep at the… The Pitt baseball team’s lack of run production resulted in a three-game sweep at the hands of the St. John’s Red Storm. The Panthers produced one run in each game of a twinight doubleheader last Saturday and three runs in the series finale on Monday afternoon.

Pitt (18-8 overall, 2-4 Big East) stranded a total 28 base runners in three games. In game one, it stranded 11 and left 10 and seven base runners on in games two and three respectively. The Panthers struck out a combined 30 times in three games and committed eight errors.

St. John’s 4, Pitt 1

Senior center fielder Michael Bell produced the first run of the game with an RBI single in which first baseman Tom Cashman came around to score from second base in the top of the second inning.

Pitt would lose the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Red Storm (12-12, 3-0) were able to cross the plate three times on a two-out, three-run double by Drew Jackson. St. John’s added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on an error by Panthers’ catcher Alex Rybczak.

Panthers’ pitcher Nick Evangelista labored for five innings, giving up three runs on seven hits. Evangelista struck out and walked three batters. Cashman, Bryan Spamer and Mike Scanzano all had two hits apiece in the loss.

St. John’s 7, Pitt 1

In game two, the Red Storm picked up where they left off in game one as they put together two multi-run innings. The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Red Storm jumped on Pitt pitcher Don Rhoten. Rhoten gave up three runs and walked four in five innings of work.

St. John’s scored three runs on two RBI singles and an RBI groundout. The Red Storm hit the Panthers up for three more runs in the sixth inning on three Pitt errors.

Pitt scored its only run when Bell drew a bases loaded walk in the top of the sixth inning. Rybczak ended the Panther threat with a fly out.

St. John’s 8, Pitt 3

The Red Storm scored all the runs that they would need through the first six innings of play. At the end of the sixth inning, St. John’s had a 5-0 lead over the Panthers.

Pitt finally got on the board in the top of the seventh inning with a Scott Folmar RBI single, which scored Bell. St. John’s stormed back with two runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh, which put Pitt behind 7-1.

Joe Engel started for the Panthers and was tagged with the loss. Engel pitched for 4 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and striking out six batters.

The Panthers had eight hits, which all were singles. Joe Burger led Pitt with two singles and Cashman snapped his four-game hitting streak. Pitt has lost three of its last four games after winning eight straight games and dropped to 2-7 on the road.

Pitt is next in action tomorrow as it travels to Cleveland State. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.