The Pitt Panthers defeated No. 5 Louisville, 8-3, in the first game of their doubleheader on Saturday, April 2.
Panthers starter Matt Gilbertson pitched seven innings, giving up two runs and three extra base hits while striking out four Louisville batters.
Pitt took an early lead thanks to a series of Cardinals miscues.
The Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the first. Both runners crossed home plate on wild pitches, as Louisville starter Tate Kuehner threw three in the inning.
Right fielder CJ Funk hit an RBI double in the second inning, and the Panthers scored again on a fielding error by Cardinals first baseman Dalton Rushing. A Sky Duff single made it 5-0 before Kuehner struck out Ron Washington Jr. to end the inning.
Kyle Hess hit a solo home run to center field in the fourth inning.
Louisville got on the board in the sixth inning, hitting a home run, triple, and double to make it 6-2.
First baseman Bryce Hulett hit a seventh-inning RBI single, then got caught in a run down on a strike-em-out, throw-em-out that allowed Washington to score from third.
Junior Baron Stuart relieved Gilbertson in the eighth and retired all three batters faced. Stuart loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth. An RBI single and fielders choice groundout to second made it 8-4, and third basemen Ben Metzinger hit a home run that closed the gap to one.
Stuart forced a popup to shallow right field and tallied his second strikeout to end the game.
The Panthers are now 14-10 on the season, and 4-5 in the ACC.
After the second part of today’s doubleheader, they’ll play the series finale against the Cardinals starting at 1pm on Sunday.Â
Good win! Gilbert was dominate against a team that has been putting up a lot of runs. Stuart, not so much. Almost gave it away. Good hitting today.
H2P!