The Pitt starters beat Mercyhurst with a pitching staff that could not miss the box. The strong showing has the Panthers winning yet another exhibition match.

Pitching master class

The Panthers took this game as an opportunity to showcase their bullpen. The starter was a graduate student left-hander, Vincent Spizzoucco. In his half inning of play, Spizzoucco recorded two strikeouts and a groundout.

David Leslie, a right-handed pitching graduate student, led the second inning for the Panthers. Leslie started strong, catching the first batter looking, but proceeded to walk the next one. The third batter sent a ball to right field that redshirt senior Lorenzo Carrier had a hard time squaring up, allowing the base hit. With runners in scoring position, the fourth batter grounded out that brought in Merchyhurst’s only run of the game. Leslie got out of the inning by striking out his final batter. 

Junior Freddy Beruvides Jr. is the left-hander who handled the third inning. After walking his first batter, Beruvides recorded three consecutive outs with a flyout, strikeout and groundout.

Daniel McAuliff, the graduate right-hander, got three consecutive outs in the top half of the fourth with two flyouts to center field and a groundout.

Right-handed graduate student Andrew Luczak struck out the side in his appearance against the Lakers’ eight, nine and one hitters. 

Senior right-handed pitcher Noah Czajkowski had a strong inning, but was in desperate need of a visit from the equipment manager. Czajkowski was able to get a quick out on his first batter with a flyout to center field but found his hat flying off after every pitch. 

However, the wardrobe malfunction didn’t faze the senior, as he struck out the next batter. The hat must have been distracting for the righty as he walked the third batter he faced. The senior donned his hat again for his fourth batter and was able to strike him out to end the inning. 

The closer for the Panthers was Mikey Gray, a senior left-hander. Grey started the top seventh quickly with two groundouts and ended the Panthers’ defensive play with a flyout to left.

After accumulating 10 strikeouts and only allowing one earned run on two walks and two hits, the Panthers’ pitching staff is looking very strong to start the season.

Offensive pest

The Panthers had a great day at the plate to match their dominance on the mound. Mercyhurst — similar to Pitt — had a new pitcher for every inning, but they did not have as strong a showing as Pitt. 

With 13 hits and nine walks, the Panthers had a grand total of 14 RBIs. The Panthers were also hit by several pitches, with three separate players getting beaned. Junior second baseman Trey Fenderson must have annoyed Mercyhurst the most —  he was hit twice. The three unaccounted Pitt runs came from a balk and a pair of throwing errors.

Carrier continues to have a dominant fall, going three for five at the plate with a home run and collecting three RBIs. After his second game, Carrier has three home runs and eight RBIs and is currently hitting over .500, hitting six for nine at the plate.

Carrier wasn’t the only notable Panther from the offensive side. Senior shortstop Caden Dulin and junior third baseman Kai Wagner both had two RBIs on a two-for-five day. And senior first baseman Carter Dierdorf went two for three, knocking in three runs and drawing two walks. 

The Panthers’ offense is a great sign of things to come in the coming season. 

Pitt has its next action at the Charles L. Cost Field on Tuesday, Oct. 28, for its Blue vs. Gold Fall World Series.