April 7, 2008

Head Coach Joe Jordano knew entering the 2008 baseball season that his Panthers would have to rely on some young players to perform in order to compete for a Big East Championship, what he did not know was that injuries would enter the equation as well.

"Obviously, this season has been very frustrating for us," commented the Panthers' skipper. "We had assembled one of the toughest pre-conference schedules that we have ever had and we were very competitive in those games. However, several injuries have really worn on our depth and have had an adverse effect on the first half of our season."

Included in Pitt's laundry list of injuries is Gary Bucuren (Ambridge, Pa./Kentucky), arguably the best Panther hitter. Bucuren has yet to play for the Panthers this season and his absence in the middle of the order has impacted Pitt's offensive production.

"Having Gary in the middle of our lineup would have really made a dramatic difference. He has pop, speed and he hits for average," said Jordano. "He is having surgery this week and will be out for the entire season after playing only 20 games for us last year. It is very difficult for us to overcome his loss, but we are certainly trying to figure it out."

On the mound, the Panthers lost two substantial arms to the draft following last season as Paul Nardozzi, a senior, was drafted into the Detroit Tigers organization and Kyle Landis, was selected in the 17^th round by the Cleveland Indians. For Jordano, the loss of Landis was especially difficult.

"We knew Paul was leaving due to graduation, but I thought we had a good chance at keeping Kyle. I could not be more pleased for both of them, and both Kyle and Paul are doing great. If Kyle had returned, he would have been in our weekend rotation and would have solidified of pitching corps."

Additionally, the Panthers were excited about the return of Ryan Dunford, a solid starter in 2007. Dunford (Buffalo, N.Y./Bishop Timon), unfortunately, had off-season surgery and has yet to throw a pitch for Panthers this season. "Ryan is a competitor," said Jordano of his injured hurler. "He logged some significant innings as our mid-week starter last year, as well as some solid relief appearances on the weekend. I hope he will be back very soon."

Joining Dunford on the shelf is sophomore Mike Wood (Endicott, N.Y./Endictott Union) and freshman standout, Josh Smith (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson West Lawn). "Mike and Josh both have great arms and we were relying on them to help us chew up some innings. Mike is just getting back and threw a bit this weekend and Josh has been out for the past four weeks or so and we are considering a medical redshirt for him this season."

To top it off, the Panthers lost Sunday starter, Brian Chrisman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Marshall), after throwing to just two batters against Seton Hall. "Brian caught his spike on the rubber after getting the first two outs in the bottom of the first and it looks like he twisted his knee. I hope he will not miss a significant amount of time. This really hurt our chances to salvage a win in the Seton Hall series and was totally unexpected."

With that said, Jordano is very optimistic. "Over the years, we have always enjoyed the role of underdog. With all the adversity we have faced, we will not take a step back," continue Pitt's head coach. "We will continue to work hard and get this worked out. We have been in this position before and have turned it around. We cannot wait to practice and suit up for our next game."