ORDER OF ORDER
1. PANTHERS CLOSE FIVE-GAME TRIP AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE
The Pitt baseball team (12-13, 4-6 ACC) concludes its current five-game road trip with a visit to Niles, Ohio, to take on Youngstown State (6-20, 3-5 Horizon League) on Tuesday at Eastwood Field. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. An audio stream of the race will be available on YSNLive.com.
2. GET ON THE BASE
Three Panthers have three double-digit home runs. Jack Anderson leads the group with 25 straight games, while CJ Funk is closely behind him with 22 in a row. Sky Duff has reached base in each of last 12 games.
3. MULTIPLYING HOMERS
Pitt has hit multiple home runs in 11 games this year, including six of the last 10 games. The Panthers have hit at least three home runs in a game three times this year, including a season-high four against Virginia Tech on March 25.
A total of eight Panthers have hit multiple home runs this season so far, with CJ Funk (9), Noah Martinez (6), Jack Anderson (4) and Justin Akal (4) leads the way.
WALK THIS WAY
Pitt is 12th in the nation with 168 walks on the season. Noah Martinez is seventh in the nation with 29 walks while CJ Funk is 15th in the country with 28 free cards.
TRANSFER OF EXPOSURE
Transfer from Central Connecticut State, Noah Martinez made an impact with the Panthers this season.
Martinez leads the team in batting average (.322), on-base percentage (.479), hits and RBI (28), while tied for first in hits (29) and second in slugging percentage (. 611) and home runs (7).
Martinez was recently named to D1Baseball’s Week 6 list of the top 50 baseball players in the country, coming in at No. 25.
GOOD START
Freshman AJ Nessler started his collegiate career solidly. Nessler ranks third on the team in batting average (.297) and RBI (25) and is fourth in slugging percentage (.473) and hits (27). He also leads the team with three triples. His nine multi-RBI games are tied for the team lead.
WE HAVE A FUNK
CJ Funk has shown both strength and patience this season. He leads Pitt with nine home runs and a .630 hitting percentage and ranks second on the team in RBI (26). His 28 walks are second on the team, while his .443 on-base percentage is third. His nine multi-RBI games are tied for the team lead.
INTERNATIONAL CLOCK
Sky Duff owns 146 career walks, three shy of the Pitt record of 148 held by David Yanni (2016-21). With 48 career doubles, he is also six shy of breaking the Pitt career record of 53 held by John Schultz (2008-11).
This season, Duff ranks third on the team in hits (28), fourth in batting average (.272) and fifth in on-base percentage (.411).
HIT PARADE
Jack Anderson is currently tied for the team lead with 29 hits on the season. He also ranks second on the team in batting average (.305) and on-base percentage (.450).
BRIAN THRIVED OUT OF THE BULLPEN
Our Brian has been an impressive arm out of the bullpen for Pitt this season. He leads the team in wins (4) and saves (2) and owns a 3.72 ERA. He struck out 24 while giving up just eight earned runs on 15 hits and five walks over a team-high 13 appearances and 19.1 innings.
COMING HOT
In the last two games, Johnny Long III hit a team-best .421 with a team-best eight hits – including a home run – to go along with four RBI and four runs scored.
ACCUMULATION OF CLEARANCES
Jack Sokol has recorded at least five hits in five of his starts this season and has fanned at least nine in three of those games, including a season-high 10 in seven innings against Mount St. Mary’s earlier this month. Sokol’s 44 strikeouts this season are a team high.
PANTHERS LOSE TWO OF THREE AT DUKE
Pitt lost two of Duke’s three games last weekend. After taking the first series by a score of 13-1, the Panthers suffered losses of 11-7 and 8-0 in the last two games.
The serial opening saw Jack Anderson hit two home runs and CJ Funk hit another to help Pitt get past Duke. Anderson accounted for four of Pitt’s 13 hits, going 4-for-6 with a three-run homer and a two-run round tripper. Eight of Pitt’s nine starters in the lineup had a hit. Anthony Lasalle finished with double and single time Noah Martinez hit a pair of singles.
FORMER PANTHER HARRIS MAKES ROSTER AT NATIONALS OPENING
Former Panther Hobie Harris has made the 2023 Opening Day roster for the Washington Nationals. Harris appeared in 44 games, including two starts, in his two years with the Panthers. He struck out 81 batters in 92.0 career innings. Harris was selected in the 31st round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees with the 933rd overall pick.
Harris made his MLB debut on April 1, pitching one scoreless inning of relief and striking out one.
YOUNGSTOWN STATE INTELLIGENCE
Pitt is 37-11-1 all-time against Youngstown State. The Panthers took the last meeting from the Penguins, 9-1, on April 6, 2022.
Youngstown State won one of three games against Purdue Fort Wayne in Horizon League action this past weekend at Eastwood Field. The Penguins won the wild affair 15-14 on Saturday in a single game.
NEXT
Pitt returns to Charles Coast Field to host Notre Dame in a three-game ACC set. The first game is scheduled for Thursday at 3:00 p.m. The second game will be played on Friday with first pitch at 3:00 p.m. The series finale is set for Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
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