PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh baseball team will play host to the Miami (OH) RedHawks this weekend for a three game series at Charles L. Cost Field.
Pitt enters the contest riding a three-game win streak and having won five of their last six contests, while Miami (OH) has come out on top in eight of their last nine games. First pitch for Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the remaining games of the three game set to follow on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
HOW TO FOLLOW
· Live stats for the game will be available via GameTracker: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
· A live stream will also be available here via PittsburghPanthers.com
LEADING OFF
· Pitt (18-14-0, 8-9-0 ACC) is coming off of a non-conference victory against Youngstown State in which they smacked 20 hits en route to a 17-5 decision
· The Panthers have won five of their last six and three straight
· Miami (OH) (20-16-0, 7-3-0 MAC) recorded their fourth straight victory as they surpassed Butler 10-3 on Wednesday afternoon
· The RedHawks sit atop the MAC East Division
SCOUTING MIAMI (OH)
· The Red Hawks feature eight players with double-digit RBIs this season
· Redshirt sophomore Ross Haffey leads the team in RBIs (32), hits (53) and slugging percentage (.640)
· The RedHawks are one of the top power hitting teams in the country as they enter the week ranked 14th nationally in home runs, launching 41 through 36 games
· Miami (OH) has surrendered just 2.7 runs per game over their last 14 outings
SERIES WITH MIAMI (OH)
· This will be the second meeting in school history between the two squads as the RedHawks hold the 1-0 series advantage
· Miami (OH) notched a 6-1 win over Pitt back in 2012
STREAKING
· Outfielder Frank Maldonado had a three-hit performance versus Youngstown State to up his current hit streak to seven games, while Charles Leblanc also had three base hits, as his current hit streak is now at six games.
· Nick Yarnall and Leblanc have each posted 10-game marks on the season, while Ronnie Sherman recorded a nine-game streak
· Yarnall, Leblanc and Maldonado all enter the weekend with seven-game reached base streaks to pace the Panther offense
· Yarnall and Aaron Schnurbusch have each boasted 13-game on-base streaks this season
RPI WATCH
· The Panthers check in at No. 43 in the latest RPI rankings, having completed one of the toughest schedules to open the season
· Pitt has knocked off four nationally-ranked opponents with wins over UNC, Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech
· The four wins over nationally-ranked foes are the most since Pitt claimed six in 2014, competing in its first season as a member of the ACC
TRUST IN CHARLES
· Shortstop Charles Leblanc has been dominant for the Panthers this season, leading one of the top offenses in the nation in just his second season of collegiate baseball
· Leblanc is sixth in the NCAA and second in the ACC with an average of .432 through 31 games, recording 35 RBIs
· In addition, Leblanc has posted a team-high 18 multiple hit games and nine multiple RBI performances, including a six-RBI outing against Clemson (April 2) and a five-RBI showing at Grambling State (Feb. 28)
MALDONADO MAKING A MARK
· Sophomore outfielder Frank Maldonado has had a superb sophomore campaign, promoting him to batting out of the second spot in the lineup in recent games
· Maldonado hit .188 after appearing in 42 games with the Panthers last season, producing five triples, he has already matched that production with five three baggers on the year, but has upped his average to .339, second amongst the Panthers
· Maldonado has hit safely in seven straight games and has four straight multiple hit games
· The Short Hills, N.J. native has one home run and 16 RBIs, along with a perfect fielding percentage in 63 opportunities.
LEBLANC GARNERS PERFECT GAME ALL-AMERICA HONORS
· The honors continue to roll in for shortstop Charles Leblanc, as he was named a Perfect Game All-American
· Leblanc checked in on the second team, joining the cast of nine ACC players to make the cut
LEBLANC NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
· After a 12-RBI performance in four games, shortstop Charles Leblanc was named the ACC Player of the Week on April 4
· Leblanc went 9-of-13 on the weekend with an outstanding nine RBIs, batting .692 in the three games against Clemson
· Leblanc’s offensive surge led the Panthers to a 15-5 victory over nationally-ranked Clemson in game two of the series as the shortstop went 4-of-5 with six RBIs
· Leblanc posted similar numbers in the mid-week win over Kent State, going 2-of-4 with two runs scored and three RBI to bring his four-game average to an impressive .647 (11-of-17) with 12 RBI in four games
SANDEFUR COPS ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK RECOGNITION
· Following a record setting performance in the second game of the series with Boston College, senior Aaron Sandefur was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week
· Sandefur fanned a career-high 12 Eagle batters, the most ever by a Pitt pitcher at Charles L. Cost Field
· Just as impressive, Sandefur shutout the Eagles, tossing a complete game without surrendering a walk and allowing just five hits
BYE BYE BYE
· The Panthers’ offense was dominant in a 13-5 win over Kent State on Wednesday, March 30 as Pitt had a pair of players with two home runs and three players with three or more RBIs
· Both Alex Kowalczyk and Ron Sherman went yard twice in the outing, as Kowalczyk recorded his sixth and seventh homers of the season and Sherman marked his fourth and fifth bombs of the year
· In addition to Kowalczyk’s five RBIs and Sherman’s three, shortstop Charles Leblanc posted three of his own with a two-RBI double in the second inning and a single in the sixth
THE ACE IS BACK
· Pittsburgh ace T.J. Zeuch made his season debut against No. 11 Florida State on Sunday, March 20, taking the hill on the snowy Pittsburgh afternoon
· Zeuch had a no-hitter going through five innings as the righty tossed 6.0 innings, giving up zero unearned runs and just one walk, while fanning eight batters
· In his second start of the season, a Saturday matchup with Boston College, the junior went 7.0 innings, allowing one run off of six hits, while not surrendering a walk but fanning 11 batters
JORDANO EARNS 800TH CAREER VICTORY
· Panther skipper Joe Jordano earned his 800th career victory in a 18-5 win at Grambling State on Feb. 28
· Jordano is the winningest coach in Pitt history, earning 524 victories in his 19-year tenure
· The 2013 and 2014 Big East Coach of the Year, Jordano has moved to 807-569-2 in his career, with 10 years at Mercyhurst prior to joining the Panthers in 1998
YARNALL EARNS WEEKLY AWARDS
· Utility man Nick Yarnall collected a pair of weekly awards following the Grambling State series, as the Landsville, Pa., native was named the Co-ACC Player of the Week and one of Collegiate Baseball’s National Players of the Week
· Yarnall dominated in the three-game stand, batting to a .571 average, going 8-of-14 with five home runs and eight runs batted in
· The junior led the Panthers in average, hits, home runs, runs batted in, total basses, slugging percentage and on-base percentage on the weekend
· Yarnall went yard twice in one inning in two contests, sending two balls over the fence in the fifth inning of the second game and going deep twice in the seventh inning of the series finale.
GOING THE DISTANCE
· It was a long weekend of baseball for Pitt at the Historic Dodgertown Classic as three of the four outings approached or surpassed the four-hour mark
· The Panthers competed in a 4:07 nine-inning contest against Niagara, an 11-8 loss against Ohio State in 13 innings checked in at 4:54, while the final game of the tournament lasted 3:56
ZEUCH GARNERS TOP ACC PROSPECT HONORS
· Junior starting pitcher T.J. Zeuch was named to D1 Baseball’s Top Prospects List for the 2016 draft, checking in at No. 7 on the list as the fourth-highest ranked pitcher
· Zeuch also earned the honor from Baseball America, checking in at No. 8 as the fifth-highest ranked pitcher
· He earned a 5-6 record in 2015, posting a 3.87 ERA in 14 starts with 90 strikeouts and just 25 walks, while posting a respectable 1.36 WHIP
NCAA CHAMPS TO VISIT COST
· Pitt will welcome reigning national champion Virginia to Charles L. Cost Field for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 30 before concluding the three-game series on Sunday, May 1
· Virginia dropped the first game of the 2015 College World Series to Vanderbilt 3-1 before storming back to capture the next two wins to secure the first National Championship in program history
· The Panthers have managed to win a game versus Virginia in each of the past two seasons, taking the first win in Cary, N.C., last season and earning a 2-4-0 record against the Cavaliers since joining the ACC
UP NEXT
· Conference play will resume on April 30 as Pitt welcomes reigning national champion Virginia to the Cost for a three game series
· Saturday will kick off the series as the two teams are set to compete in a doubleheader, with the final game to follow on Sunday
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