College Roundup: Pitt Baseball Tops Penn State

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published April 19, 2017 4:16 am
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – In the final of a home-and-home series with rival Penn State, the University of Pittsburgh baseball team claimed a 9-1 victory over the Nittany Lions at Medlar Field in University Park, Pa. Tuesday evening.

(Photo courtesy of Pitt Athletics)

With the win, Pitt has claimed the season series with its cross-state rival, as the Panthers earned a 3-2 win over the Nittany Lions earlier this month at Charles L. Cost Field.

The Panthers struck early, taking a 1-0 lead in the first frame as Jacob Wright led off the game with a triple to center. Wright would cross home on a single through the right side by Caleb Parry. Frank Maldonado would put men on first and second after an infield single, as Pitt would strand the pair but claim a 1-0 lead.

Pitt starter Josh Mitchell would work around a leadoff single in the first to retire the side, fanning the final two batters to silence the Nittany Lions in the first. The Panthers extended their lead in the second, adding another run to take a 2-0 lead. P.J. DeMeo got the inning going, reaching on an error by Penn State second baseman Christian Helsel and moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Amos. DeMeo took third after Nico Popa grounded out and was brought home on a well-hit single to the shortstop off the bat of Wright.

Freshman Chris Gomez took over on the bump for the second and tossed a lights out frame, retiring the side in order with just five pitches, ending the inning with a called third strike to Keith Leavitt. Gomez was again solid in the third, pitching around a one-out single to hold the Nittany Lions off the scoreboard.

The Panthers put up two in both the fourth and fifth innings, capitalizing on three Penn State errors to take a 6-0 advantage. In the fourth, Manny Pazos would reach on a throwing error by the shortstop, moving to second on a wild pitch and taking third on a throwing error by the catcher. A walk to DeMeo would put runners on corners before another wild pitch would allow Pazos to score and put DeMeo in scoring position. A sacrifice bunt by Amos moved DeMeo to third with just one out before the Nittany Lions called upon the bullpen. The third wild pitch of the inning scored DeMeo as Pitt took a 4-0 advantage.

In the fifth, back-to-back singles by Yaya Chentouf and Maldonado put two on with one out as a successful double steal moved both into scoring position. A walk to Nick Banman loaded the bases as the Nittany Lions defense again faltered. Pazos would send a well-hit shot into left as the ball tumbled out of the glove of Nick Riotto, allowing both Chentouf and Maldonado to score.

Gomez continued to dominate in the fifth, working around a leadoff walk and a two-out single, striking out the side to keep the lead at 6-0 in favor of the Panthers.

Pitt continued to expose the Nittany Lions in the sixth, scoring three to take a 9-0 lead. Amos led off the inning taking a pitch to the back. A sacrifice bunt by Popa moved Amos into scoring position as the freshman took third after a groundout by Wright. Parry would reach on a fielding error by the Penn State third baseman, allowing Amos to score. Chentouf would be the second Panther of the frame to take a pitch to the back, putting men on first and second with two outs for Maldonado who would draw a walk to load the bases. A single through the right side off the bat of Banman would score Chentouf and Parry as Pitt took a commanding 9-0 advantage.

The offense quieted following the sixth, as neither team was able to score until the Nittany Lions broke the shutout in the ninth. TJ Pagan took over on the bump for Gomez with two outs in the sixth and held the Nittany Lions to just three hits until he was relieved by Chentouf in the ninth.

A hit batter and walk put a pair on with two outs for Penn State as a single scored the runner and pushed the score to 9-1 in favor of the Panthers. Chentouf would get Conlin Hughes to line out to Popa to end the game as Pitt captured its second straight win over the Nittany Lions.

On the evening, the Nittany Lions committed five errors in the field, the most any opponent has faltered against the Panthers this season and the most since fellow Big 10 program Ohio State committed four on Feb. 18, 2017 in Kissimmee, Fla., as Pitt knocked off the reigning Big 10 Champions 7-2. The last team to commit five errors in a game against the Panthers was St. John’s on March 24, 2013 in an 11-2 Pitt win.

With the victory, the Panthers improve to 16-17 on the season. Gomez earns his third win as the freshman now sits at 3-1 on the year.

Offensively, Maldonado was 3-4 on the evening with a walk and a run scored. Banman went 1-4 with two RBIs and a walk while Wright added a 2-5 outing with an RBI and run scored.

CUP MEN’S GOLF

BELPRE, Ohio — The Clarion men’s golf team was consistent from top-to-bottom on Tuesday, with all five competitors finishing within one stroke of one another after the first day of the Ohio Valley College Spring Championships. The Golden Eagles will resume competition at Oxbow Golf Course on Wednesday morning.

Clarion was one of three times tied for second after one day of competition, matching the host school Ohio Valley and Virginia-Wise with team scores of 300. The key for the Golden Eagles was consistency, with just one finisher in the top five but all five Golden Eagles finishing in a tight, consistent group. Mitch Faulkner was the top finisher for Clarion on the first day, carding a round of 72 to tie for fifth place.

The next four competitors were all within four strokes of one another. Sean Edgar tied for 13th with a round of 75, while Loren Dukate came in just one stroke behind at 76. Nathan Sandberg and Joe Kerrigan carded rounds of 77 and 78, respectively, to round out the Clarion field.

Individual Results
T5 Mitch Faulkner 72
T13 Sean Edgar 75
T15 Loren Dukate 76
T18 Nathan Sandberg 77
T21 Joe Kerrigan 78
Team Results
1 Malone 281
T2 Clarion 300
T2 Ohio Valley 300
T2 Virginia-Wise 300
5 Wheeling Jesuit 313
6 Concord 317
T7 Urbana 319
T7 West Virginia Wesleyan 319
9 West Virginia State 324
10 Glenville State 344

CUP WOMEN’S TENNIS

BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — The Clarion women’s tennis team finished up their season on a high note on Tuesday, rolling to an 8-1 victory over Geneva on the road. The Golden Eagles conclude their season with a 6-10 overall record.

Two of the six singles matches went to third set tiebreakers, but in both instances Clarion players came out on top. Vinisha Reddy bounced back from a loss in the second set of the No. 4 singles match to notch an easy tiebreaker win over Grace Moyer, outscoring her 10-4 in the extra frame for the win. Allison Probst had a tougher go of it but still came out on top, winning a tight 11-9 decision in the third set over Jana Newberry in the No. 5 match.

Alivia Arnold returned to the lineup for a singles win, defeating Rachael Letterman 6-3, 6-4 in the No. 1 singles match. Reddy and Katie Benson dominated the No. 2 doubles match to the tune of an 8-2 win, and Probst and Michelle Petrilla won the No. 3 doubles match over Megan Hinds and Laura Anderson.

Maria Snyder closed out her season with a straight-sets win over Sara Stoll, winning 6-2, 6-1 in the No. 2 singles match, and Petrilla rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 score over Hinds. Rounding it all out was Benson, who downed Michelle Kisiel by a 6-1, 6-0 score.

Clarion 8, Geneva 1

Doubles

1. Letterman/Stoll (Geneva) def. Arnold/Snyder (CLAR) 8-5
2. Reddy/Benson (CLAR) def. Moyer/Newberry (Geneva) 8-2
3. Probst/Petrilla (CLAR) def. Hinds/Anderson (Geneva) 8-4

Singles

1. Alivia Arnold (CLAR) def. Rachael Letterman (Geneva) 6-3, 6-4
2. Maria Snyder (CLAR) def. Sara Stoll (Geneva) 6-2, 6-1
3. Michelle Petrilla (CLAR) def. Megan Hinds (Geneva) 6-1, 6-2
4. Vinisha Reddy (CLAR) def. Grace Moyer (Geneva) 6-3, 6-7 (1), 1-0 (4)
5. Allison Probst (CLAR) def. Jana Newberry (Geneva) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (9)
6. Katie Benson (CLAR) def. Michelle Kisiel (Geneva) 6-1, 6-0

PITT SOFTBALL

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team dropped a 3-2 decision to the 25th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes Tuesday evening at Vartabedian Field in the Petersen Sports Complex.

Sophomore Olivia Gray led the Panthers at the plate, going yard in the opening at-bat and sending in fellow sophomore Taylor Myers in the bottom of the seventh off a single to right field. Myers also had a notable performance at the plate today, registering two hits with a triple.

With the loss, the Panthers drop to 21-20 on the year, while the Buckeyes improve to 27-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second time this season, Gray opened the first inning with a lead-off solo shot, putting the Panthers out in front 1-0.

Following a scoreless second, Ohio State’s Lilli Piper sent a ball over the left field wall, bringing around Anna Kirk, to move out in front 2-1.

The Buckeyes added on their third and final run of the game in the top of the seventh. With runners in scoring position, Ohio State’s Taylor White singled to left field to score Piper who reached base after being walked by junior pitcher Kayla Harris.

In the bottom half of the seventh, Myers stepped to the plate with one away and rattled off her first career triple. In the next at-bat, Gray singled to left to bring Myers home. The Panthers would be unable to get anything going after that, falling 3-2.

UP NEXT
Pitt will close out a 10-game homestand and its home slate by playing host to NC State April 21-23. The Panthers will celebrate Senior Day prior to Saturday’s contest.

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