Baseball’s Late Rally Denied by Pitt in 4-3 Setback
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) baseball team had a late comeback effort ended in a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh (Pitt) Panthers on Saturday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Trailing by a pair in the final frame, UNCG scored one run and loaded the bases before coming up 90 feet short of tying the game.
The Panthers plated the game’s first runs by scoring a pair during the second inning. After Jayden Melendez reached on a single to leadoff the inning, he scored on a single to right by Caden Dulin. A wild pitch followed up by a throwing error allowed Pitt’s second run to score, making it 2-0.
Pitt scored its final two runs to take a 4-0 lead during the fourth frame. Melendez got the inning started again when he reached first on a dropped ball in the outfield. He later scored alongside Gavin Miller on a two-run single to left-center by Dulin.
The Spartans scored their first run in the fifth stanza when Zachary Walsh launched his team-leading second home run of the season out to right to cut the deficit to three, 4-1.
UNCG scored another run in the seventh to close the gap to two, 4-2. Pinch hitting, Jack Pokorak knocked a single to left, which scored Jeremy Wolf after he reached on a walk to start the inning and moved over to third on a single by Jose Perez prior to Pokorak’s at-bat.
The bottom of the ninth inning saw the Spartans rally to load the bases after scoring one run, which made it 4-3. Perez drew a walk to begin the inning. Branton Jernigan hit a pinch-hit single through the right side, which advanced Perez to second. Perez then moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt by Walsh before scoring on a sacrifice fly hit out to left by Luke Holland. After back-to-back walks loaded the bases, the Spartans’ ninth-inning rally was stymied by Pitt’s fourth reliever of the inning, Daniel McAuliff, who came in and got the final out with a bases-loaded groundout to second base. The Panthers’ 4-3 win over the Spartans in game two on Saturday secured a series victory before Sunday’s finale.
NOTES:
Walsh and Wolf led the Spartans with two hits each.
Walsh’s solo homer in the fifth was the fourth of his career.
UNCG starter Jay Miller and reliever Noah Chapman combined for 14 strikeouts.
Miller’s 10 strikeouts marked a single-game career-high.
UNCG had the upper hand in walks, 5-3.
Pitt had the edge in hits, 10-9.
PITCHING RECORDS:
Ryan Reed: W, 2-0
Jay Miller: L, 1-2
Daniel McAuliff: Save, 1
RECORDS:
UNCG: 4-5, 0-0 SoCon
Pitt: 7-2, 0-0 ACC
PURCHASE UNCG GEAR
Click here for your one-stop shop for all of your official UNCG merchandise! From apparel to accessories, there is something for everyone!
UP NEXT
UNCG will take on Pitt one more time with the series finale slated for Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans will then face a fourth consecutive ACC opponent when they host NC State for a midweek test on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. After that, they will welcome in Elon on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. hosting Radford from March 7-9 in Greensboro.
Courtesy of Connor Wachtel
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro