Despite weekend sweep, Pitt baseball still exceeding expectations

Heading into this past weekend, Pitt's baseball team was riding high. The Panthers were 5-1 and even receiving votes in the most recent college baseball polls. But after a three-game losing streak at the hands of The Citadel, UNC-Asheville, and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU), I wanted to take a look at where the Panthers stood in terms of the Big East.

The verdict? Pretty well.

At 5-4, Pitt is currently fourth in the 11-team Big East behind Louisville, Notre Dame, and UConn. And compared to where they were expected to finish, the team is in even better shape. In the preseason conference rankings, Pitt was picked to finish 7th in the Big East. So even despite the three-game slide, the Panthers are still doing better than most thought they would.

Biggest disappointment? Without a question, St. John's. The Red Storm were picked to finish second in the conference and even received three first-place votes. St. John's is 1-10, though, and ahead of only winless Seton Hall.

Pitt's record, of course, is prior to playing any Big East games. But even in that context, they're still doing better than 2/3 of the rest of the conference. Pitt is likely a while away from the heavyweights in the conference in Louisville and Notre Dame, but if they keep playing well, finishing above that seventh place projection is possible.

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