April 19, 2008

Box Score

PITTSBURGH--The Pitt baseball team dropped a hard-fought contest to Big East foe St. John's Saturday afternoon at Trees Field. Senior Dan Williams launched his second homerun of the season as the Panthers fell by a final score of 7-4.

 

St. John's (27-9, 10-4) got on the board early when third baseman Greg Hopkins launched his fourth homerun of the season with a runner on board and one out in the top of the second, giving the Red Storm a 2-0 advantage.

 

The Panthers (12-22, 4-10) got their offense rolling in the bottom of the third, cutting St. John's lead in half when Williams (SR/Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal Academy) plated his 19^th RBI of the season. The second baseman went on to go 4-5 on the day, driving-in two runs in the process.

 

Leadoff batter Jordan Herr (RS SO/Lancaster, Pa./Delaware) was pegged with an offering from Red Storm starter George Brown, as Sean Conley (SR/Chippewa, Pa./Blackhawk) followed with a bunt single, putting runners on first and second for Pitt. Conley would also notch a 4-5 effort at the plate for the Panthers on the day.

 

Two batters later, Williams knocked a single to right field, scoring Herr. Conley was gunned at the plate by the Red Storm right fielder in an attempt to tie the game, as Brown got the ensuing Panther batter to ground out, ending the inning with St. John's still ahead by a tally of 2-1.

 

The Red Storm offense bounced back in fourth, scoring four more to take a 6-1 lead. Chris Anninos tagged a leadoff homerun, as the next five-consecutive St. John's batters tallied hits off Pitt starter Corey Baker (FR/New City, N.Y./Clarkstown South), adding three more runs to the board.

 

Williams plated his second run of the day with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning, scoring Joe Leonard (FR/Dawson, Pa./Connellsville) who'd reached base with a one-out double to left field, his sixth of the season, cutting the Red Storm lead to 6-2.

 

The Panthers had a scary moment in the top of the fifth when Williams and first baseman Morgan Kielty (JR/Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Central) collided in shallow right field, as both players attempted to catch a hanging fly ball.

 

Williams made the catch for Pitt, getting the out, but both players were slow to get up. Kielty and Williams would both eventually recover and stay in the game. Baker and the Panther defense would retire two of the next three St. John's batters, keeping the Red Storm from adding to its four-run advantage.

 

Neither team produced any offense until the seventh inning when St. John's threatened to add to its lead. Hopkins ripped a one-out single up the middle as teammate Carlos Del Rosario knocked a hit into right field.

 

Rosario would advance to second on the hit as Pitt right fielder Zach Duggan (RS FR/Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley) fielded the ball, relaying a throw to Williams, who gunned Hopkins at the plate for the inning's second out. Baker would get the following Red Storm batter to fly to center field, ending the St. John's threat.

 

The Panthers were retired in order in the bottom half of the inning as Baker, making just his third start of the season, was replaced on the mound in the eighth by fellow freshman Cole Taylor (FR/Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell). Baker went 7.0 innings, tallying three strikeouts, while giving up six earned runs.

 

Taylor got out of the inning unharmed, as the Panthers continued to chip away at the Red Storm lead in the bottom of the eighth. With one out and the bases empty, Williams launched his second homerun of the season with a blast over the right field wall, cutting the St. John's lead to 6-3.

 

Two batters later, Kielty drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch by St. John's reliever Miguel Valcarcel. With a full count, Leonard tallied a walk of his own to put two runners on base for Pitt.

 

Redshirt junior Chris Warner (RS JR/West Seneca, N.Y./University of South Carolina) entered the game, pinch-hitting for Philip Konieczny (FR/Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe) as Colin Lynch replaced Valcarcel on the mound to face the Panther lefty.

 

With a full count, two out and two on, Lynch tossed a low, outside pitch baiting Warner as he went down on strikes to end the inning.

 

The Red Storm added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, when Annious launched his second homerun of the game with a leadoff, solo shot over the wall in right-center field, extending St. John's lead to 7-3. Taylor retired three of the next four batters to get out of the inning.

 

Down four runs, the Pitt offense wasn't done scoring as Conley ripped a two-out double left-center field. Shortstop Danny Lopez (SO/Queens, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) followed with a single to the right side, plating Lopez for the Panthers' fourth run of the game.

 

Williams tallied his fourth hit of the day with a single of his own up the middle, putting runners at the corners for Pitt with two outs. Lynch ended the Panther threat and the game, striking out the final Pitt batter of the day as St. John's went on to take the series' second contest by a score of 7-4.

 

Baker (2-2) picked up the loss as Brown (8-0) remained undefeated on the season. The Panthers and Red Storm will conclude weekend play with a 12 p.m. game tomorrow at Trees Field.