Pitt baseball sweeps Eastern Michigan in weekend series

The Pitt baseball team traveled to Sanford, Florida, to take on Eastern Michigan in a three-game series at Sanford Memorial Stadium, and the Panthers recorded their first sweep of the 2020 season. The series improved Pitt’s record to 6-1 and dropped Eastern Michigan to 1-5. That 6-1 record represents Pitt's best start to a season through seven games since 2017.

The first game took place on Friday night, and Billy Corcoran took the mound for Pitt, pitching five scoreless innings before giving up two in the sixth. During that span, Ron Washington Jr. and David Yanni both batted in runs, and Riley Wash scored when Nico Popa hit into a double play. Despite the Eagles’ late comeback attempt, the Panthers were able to fend them off with a Chase Smith save, winning 3-2.

On Saturday afternoon, the Panthers and Eagles faced off again, and the result was more lopsided. Although the game started similarly to the first, with Pitt jumping out to a 3-0 lead and Eastern Michigan scoring two in the top of the sixth, the Panthers responded with a decisive showing in the bottom of the sixth, plating seven runs. The Eagles would tack on two more in the eighth, but Pitt would win 10-4. David Yanni was a force for Pitt, with a two-run home run and a three-run double, and Mitch Myers got the win, with seven strikeouts and two earned runs in 5.2 innings.

The third game in the series was played on Sunday, and it followed a familiar pattern. Pitt scored three unanswered runs to start things off before Eastern Michigan scored two late in the game. This time, it was Bryce Hulett, Samuel Frontino and David Yanni who drove in Pitt’s runs, and Matt Gilbertson was credited with the win, with four strikeouts and no runs allowed in seven innings of work. The final score was 3-2 in Pitt’s favor.

Next up for Pitt is a four-game series in Sanford with two games against Lehigh and two games against Central Connecticut State. Lehigh is 1-5 after dropping a series to Richmond and getting swept by Davidson, and Central Connecticut State went 2-1 in a three-game series with Bethune-Cookman.