Pitt baseball hosts Villanova in weekend series

Pitt's baseball season is in the home stretch and the Panthers have an important series this weekend against Villanova. At 37-11, Pitt needs to add as many wins as possible to improve their NCAA Tournament resume. The Panthers should be in the field, but a weak schedule could hurt them. It's imperative that Pitt adds on as many wins as they can.

The team faces Villanova in a three-game set on Saturday and Sunday. Friday's scheduled game was canceled and assuming they can squeeze it in, it will be made up as part of a doubleheader today starting at 1:00 p.m.

With an 11-36 record (2-16 in the Big East), the Wildcats enter as the worst team in the conference. This is a series that Pitt really cannot afford to lose because bad losses late in the season will hurt their RPI (which as of this weak, was still only 44th in the nation).

The wins are also needed as Pitt pursues the Big East crown. The Panthers entered the weekend in a tie with South Florida for first place. The Bulls lost both of their games to surging Seton Hall yesterday and, for now, Pitt is alone in first at 15-3 in the conference. But Louisville (14-4), South Florida (15-5), and Seton Hall (15-5) are all right behind them. If the Panthers can sweep another series, they will head into the final weekend atop the conference standings.

Pitt's regular pitching rotation of Ethan Mildren, Matt Wotherspoon, and Rhys Aldenhoven are all expected to start this weekend.

Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics.