Pitt pitching delivered another lights-out performance on Sunday afternoon in a game two victory on the road against Virginia. Junior righty Matt Gilbertson earned his third win of the season as the No. 18 Panthers (11-4 overall, 8-3 ACC) topped the Cavaliers (8-10 overall, 2-9 ACC) 6-2 at Davenport Field
Gilbertson’s start rivaled the brilliance of his game one counterpart, Mitch Myers, who tossed a complete game and allowed just one run in Saturday’s 2-1 win. Gilbertson went a season-long eight innings. He struck out five, walked none and allowed just two scores in the process.
On offense, the Panthers jumped out to an early lead and the Cavaliers weren’t able to respond until the late frames.
In the third inning, three straight singles from junior outfielders Nico Popa, Kyle Hess and Ron Washington Jr. plated one, then senior second baseman David Yanni drove home one more with a double down the right field line. The Panthers put two runs on the board before Virginia starter, senior Griff McGarry was able to record an out in the third.
McGarry was pulled after recording two outs, but it did little to stop the Panther offense, which is averaging eight runs per game over their last five contests. In the fourth, Pitt capitalized on a key Virginia miscue. Junior designated hitter Sky Duff reached on an error by third baseman Zack Gelof. The following at bat, junior outfielder Nico Popa hit a line drive-home run just past the outstretched glove of Cavalier center fielder senior Marc LeBreux to make it 4-0 Pitt.
Pitt would add two more again off of Virginia miscues in the eighth. Sophomore shortstop Brock Franks started the rally with a one out double. Then Duff reached by virtue of an error again. After Duff advanced on a wild pitch, Popa collected his third hit and RBI of the day on a single.
The Panthers will conclude the series with game three — another 1 p.m. first pitch — on Monday afternoon. The series had been pushed back a day to avoid inclement weather in the area. Neither team has yet named a starting pitcher. Monday’s contest will conclude a stretch of 16-consecutive road games to open the season for Pitt. The team will return home on Wednesday for the home opener against Bucknell.
