Pitt baseball got about as much media coverage they’re going to get this week for making it into the Big East Tournament. Not only did they get the rare mention here, but the local papers, radio stations, and TV news also had their stories on the team. They excited me enough that I pulled up the live GameCast from the Big East website and checked on in every few minutes when they played against USF.
What a way to kill everything you had going for you. On Tuesday they managed to put six (six!) errors on the scoreboard and yet only one run — not a recipe for success. USF’s pitcher was unreal though.
USF senior right-hander Danny Otero worked a complete game and limited the Panthers to just three hits, while walking just one batter.
Going into Wednesday’s game I figured we could at least pick up one win at the tourney. I wasn’t nearly as quick to pull up the GameCast for this one though. Playing the worst seeded team in the tourney, UConn at #8, we managed to leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Connecticut lefty Mike Tarsi worked eight innings, struck out seven and allowed just two runs as he collected his sixth win of the season. Junior lefty Matt Karl came on in the ninth inning and recorded his team-best 11th save of the season. The Panthers loaded the bases in the top half of the ninth inning with no outs, but were not able to take the lead en route to being eliminated from the championship.
I’m willing to bet that these two pitchers just happened to have the games of their lives against Pitt. Either that, or the Panthers need a new hitting coach. Maybe someone to tell them how to work their gloves, too.