Pitt Baseball on the Ropes

In a week that saw star player Joe Leonard named the Big East Player of the Year, Pitt was dealt an opening loss in the Big East Tournament, losing to Rutgers today 9-5:

"We just have to turn the page and forget about today," said Baker (11-3), who had matched a season high with 12 hits allowed in his first meeting with Rutgers, a 9-8 loss on April 1. "We lose again, we're done, so we can't linger on today and let it affect us."

With innings at a premium on the mound, facing a potential six games in five days, Jordano stuck with Baker for six innings and a season-high 130 pitches. He gave up 16 hits, matching a 16-year-old Big East record.

The baseball fan in me immediately was drawn to the 130 pitches. Holy crap. Even Dusty Baker thinks this kid might be overworked.

Seriously, I know little about pitch counts in college baseball. But minor league teams reguarly limit young pitchers to under 100 pitches, so that seemed a bit high to me.

Anyway, so Pitt is now one loss away from being out of the Big East Tournament. There's a general consensus that 40 wins will get you into the NCAA Tournament most of the time. Pitt is still four away from that number and is now in danger of missing the tournament.