After a heartbreaking loss to Stetson in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday night, the Panthers bounced back and routed the Hatters, 10-2, on Sunday afternoon at Melching Field in DeLand, Fla.
Pitt righty Erubiel Candelario got the win for the Panthers. Overall, Pitt’s pitching rotation had a solid outing, surrendering only two runs and five hits. They also struck out 11 batters. Pitt had eight hits and were led by first baseman Noah Martinez, who went 3 of 3 and had a two-run homer. Left fielder AJ Nessler also had two hits and two RBIs.
The Panthers got out of the gates fast by scoring four runs in the top of the first. All four runs were unearned and three were off mishaps by Stetson pitcher Cooper Smith. Tommy Tavarez and Jayden Melendez were both hit by pitches with the bases loaded to bring in runs, while Dom Popa was walked. Smith was pulled before the end of the second inning.
Candelario forced the Hatters to strand a pair of runners in the bottom of the second. Stetson also left a runner on third in the bottom of the third. Stetson finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth as Christian Pregent flied out to center field to bring home Landon Moran.
After five straight scoreless innings, Martinez hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to increase the Panthers’ lead to 6-1. Stetson answered with another run in the bottom of the seventh as Evan Griffis flied out to center field and brought home Andrew Estrella.
The Panthers gave their lead some cushion in the top of the ninth with two more runs. Jack Anderson and AJ Nessler both recorded RBI singles to bring in a run. Heading into the bottom of the ninth with a seven-run lead, Panthers closer Nash Bryan took care of business and retired the side to secure a 9-2 victory for Pitt.
With the win, the Panthers are now 7-5 on the season. They face South Florida in Tampa Bay on Tuesday before beginning ACC play, which starts on Friday against Florida State in Tallahassee.
