Pitt baseball wins first series of year, defeating Presbyterian

Pitt’s baseball team took its first series of the season, defeating Presbyterian in two out of three games over the weekend.

The Panthers (14-28) won the opener against the Blue Hose (21-23) on Friday, 7-5. Pitt made a couple of comebacks, first trailing 3-1 early then trailing 5-4 in the eighth inning. The Panthers scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth, giving Chase Smith his third win of the year (3-5).

In Game 2, Pitt clinched the series with a 2-1 win. That victory was largely due to a strong outing from Dan Hammer, who also picked up his third win (3-5). Hammer went eight innings, scattering five hits for no runs while striking out 11. Smith then came on for his fourth save of the season to close it out.

The Panthers trailed 7-0 in Game 3 before rallying for seven runs in the eighth to tie the score. But Pitt couldn’t produce any additional runs, allowing two in the 12th, losing 9-7. The teams combined for 29 hits in that one.

Despite the loss in the third game, it was a good weekend for a Pitt team that desperately needed one. They’ve now got a two-game midweek series against Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday and Wednesday before facing Florida State this weekend.

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