Pitt pitcher Derek West was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after throwing a career-high seven shutout innings in his team’s 10-0 win over Florida State on Friday night. West also struck out nine batsmen, allowing just five hits and giving up one walk.
”We’ve said it from day one: It starts with pitching and defense,” Pitt head coach Mike Bell said after the victory. “Derek [West] was outstanding, our defense played errorless baseball, and we grinded out at-bats up and down the lineup. We played Panther baseball.”
West is the owner of the lowest earned run average among Pitt’s starters, as his ERA currently sits at 3.28. The only pitcher on the team with a better ERA is right-handed reliever Chase Smith at 3.22. The native of Orange City, Florida, also ranks second on the team in strikeouts, with 68, and has given up just 23 walks and 10 extra base-hits in 2019.
With that said, the Panthers struggled to deal with the Seminoles without West on the mound, as they dropped their subsequent two games 15-6 and 12-6. Part of the reason for that was Florida State third baseman Drew Mendoza, who saw his average rise from .289 to .321 over the weekend. Mendoza took off in the latter two games of the series, going 6-for-6 with five RBI on Saturday and Sunday. He was named the ACC Player of the Week.
With the victory on Friday, West improved his record to 2-2 on the year. As for the Panthers, they now sit at 17-30 on the season and will return to action on Tuesday afternoon at Charles L. Cost Field, where they will host Western Michigan. The matchup is set to get underway at 3 p.m. ET.