Pitt baseball team tops Virginia Tech for first ACC win

The Pitt baseball team logged its first ACC win of the 2019 season on Sunday, as it hosted Virginia Tech at Charles L. Cost Field for the third installment of a three-game series, and the Panthers topped the Hokies 1-0.

Christian Camacho took the mound for Pitt but lasted just one inning. He got things started by inducing a flyout by Virginia Tech outfielder Kerry Carpenter. However, Camacho then found himself in trouble after giving up back-to-back singles to Hokies first baseman Carson Taylor and catcher Luke Horanski before notching two strikeouts to get out of the inning.

Camacho was replaced by Brady Devereux in the second inning. Devereux got off to an inauspicious start by walking outfielder Nick Biddison. But he cleared the bases by inducing a double play and then struck out second baseman Reagan Teegarden for the third out. Despite his success, he would also pitch just one inning on Sunday.

After Devereux, David Moore contributed another clean inning for the Panthers but was replaced by Billy Corcoran in the top of the fourth inning after plunking Horanski. Corcoran went for more than five innings, striking out three batsmen and giving up just two hits and one walk. Chase Smith then closed out the game for Pitt, pitching two-thirds of an inning, striking out one and giving up just one hit.

For the Hokies, Peyton Alford got the start and pitched just over five innings. However, in the bottom of the fourth, he gave up what proved to be a costly run on a David Yanni groundout that allowed Connor Perry to score, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

Pitt head coach Mike Bell discussed the Panthers’ first ACC win after the game.

”As we continue to grow as a team and a program, we continue to talk about having mental toughness,” Bell said. “Today, our young Panthers showed a lot of mental toughness, after a couple of tough losses, and they went out and earned an ACC victory.”

Although Sunday's outcome was positive for Pitt, the team dropped its previous two games against Virginia Tech on Friday and Saturday 11-4 and 16-1, respectively. Pitt also fell to Penn State and Youngstown State last week at Charles L. Cost Field.

With the win, Pitt improved to 7-11 overall and 1-5 in conference. The team will wrap up its six-game homestand with a matchup against Kent State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.