PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Panthers won their second consecutive ACC series against a ranked opponent as they beat the No. 5 Louisville Cardinals, 6-3, at home on Sunday, April 3.
Panthers starter Billy Corcoran threw a 113-pitch complete game, striking out nine Cardinals batters and allowing just four hits. Corcoran retired the first 13 batters he faced. He then gave up three consecutive hits, a pair of singles and an RBI double. Another run scored on a sacrifice fly, which narrowed Pitt’s lead.
M1 | Pitt 0, No. 5 Louisville 0
First three batters retired for @BillyCorcoran32 with back-to-back K's!
Sitting at 98 pitches, Corcoran came back out to start the ninth. He earned the last three outs on a grounder, strikeout and pop up, sandwiched around a solo home run by Louisville third baseman Ben Metzinger.
Corcoran (3-2) snapped a two-game personal losing streak. He had nine strikeouts, to set a new season high.
Pitt loaded the bases with three consecutive singles in the first inning, and left fielder Ron Washington Jr. pulled a double down the left field line to plate two runs. Right fielder CJ Funk hit his second home run in as many games, and his third of the season, to make it 3-0 in the second inning.
Jordan Anderson replaced Kyle Hess in center field as the Panthers prioritized defense to get the last six outs. Panthers batters walked the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth, but Sky Duff went down swinging to end the threat.
Wit the win, Pitt moved to 15-11 on the season, and is now 5-6 in the ACC.
Their next game will come against Kent State at home on Tuesday, April 5, with the starting time yet to be determined. The starting rotation has been subject to change throughout the season, but Ben Dragani is expected to get the nod.
Corcoran’s change up was wicked today. Great complete game and pretty much domination!
H2P