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Pitt's baseball team had a nice weekend, winning three out of four games at the second Panther Classic Tournament this year. The victory puts Pitt in a third-place tie in the Big East.
Before the games, I mentioned how Pitt really needed to get at least three wins here. Neither Niagara nor Toledo has been real good this year and it's important to win as many of these games before the Big East season starts as possible.
As has been the case all year, Pitt was able to score a good deal of runs, grabbing 35 in the four games. That was highlighted by a 17-3 beatdown in the first game against Niagara. Outfielder Steven Shelinsky went 3-3 with two homers and seven RBI in that game. Those two bombs give him six on the year, making him the team leader for now.
We've talked a lot about the offense, but Pitt's pitchers are carrying their weight as well. The three starters, Ethan Mildren, Rhys Aldenhoven, and Matt Wotherspoon all have ERAs under 4.00, led by Mildren's 3.41. The three are a combined 9-2 on the year. Mildren had the highlight of the weekend from the mound with a complete game in Friday's win over Toledo.
Next up for Pitt is a Tuesday game against, wait for it, Penn State. After that, a Wednesday game against Kent State. And not to get too far ahead, but next weekend, they'll have their first Big East games of the year, taking on St. John's. Those Big East games are on the road and, as we all learned last month, will actually be on ESPN3.
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