Pitt baseball drops first game of weekend vs. Citadel, 8-0

And the jinx is on.

For the first time all season, Pitt's bats fell silent against The Citadel today when the team lost 8-0. The Panthers, playing in the first game of the Bulldog Challenge, in South Carolina, just couldn't push any runs across today.

To say they were completely inept on offense would be a bit of a stretch, though. Pitt piled up eight hits while the Citadel had 12. By those standards, you'd feel as if the game should have been closer. But the Panthers squandered some opportunities. Pitt left ten guys on base and catcher Elvin Soto was the big offender, stranding five.

In the first two innings, the Panthers had runners in scoring position on second base, but stranded them. In the fifth, the team had runners on second and third, but a foul out and strike out ended the threat. In the eighth, Pitt again had a chance to score with a runner on second, but failed to get him home. Just that kind of day.

Starter Ethan Mildren gave up six runs in five innings, taking the loss. 5-2 Pitt takes on UNC-Asheville on Saturday at noon.