STANFORD, Calif. – Senior Ethan Hott and sophomore JJ Moran each finished with three hits, but Stanford dropped the rubber game of a three-game ACC series 10-5 to Pitt on Sunday from Sunken Diamond.
Hott finished 3-for-4 with his first homer of the season and a double while driving in three runs. Hitting cleanup for the Cardinal, Moran batted 3-for-4 with a homer, two runs scored and two RBIs. The round-tripper, which tied the game 2-2 in the first, was Moran’s fourth of the season.
Knotted at 2-2 headed to the second, Pitt plated four runs in the inning to take a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. A costly error charged to Jimmy Nati – the first of three committed by the senior second baseman – and a pair of balks charged to Stanford starter Parker Warner opened the door to four unearned runs in the inning. Kai Wagner and Trey Fenderson each contributed RBI-hits in the frame as the Panthers chased Warner after just 1 2/3 innings.
The right-hander was saddled with the loss and dropped to 0-2 on the year after allowing six runs (two earned) on six hits.
Eight of the nine Pitt starters had hits in the game as the Panthers compiled 10 runs on 17 hits while drawing 11 walks. Lorenzo Carrier led the way with an unblemished 4-for-4 day at the plate, while Wagner drove in three runs.
Outside of the two-run homers from Hott and Moran, Stanford managed just one run in the bottom of the sixth when Hott singled into center field to make it an 8-5 game.
The Panthers would tack on single runs in the seventh and ninth innings on a pair of wild pitches to seal the series victory.
The Cardinal used eight pitchers in Sunday’s game, as the octet combined to walk 11 while striking out seven batters.
Eddie Smink was credited with the victory for Pitt after tossing 5 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. The right-hander, who improved to 1-0 on the season, allowed just one run on five hits in relief of starter Drew Lafferty.
Stanford faces finals week academically beginning Monday before returning to the diamond on Saturday to host Utah Valley at 2:05 p.m. The Cardinal will play a doubleheader on Sunday before concluding a four-game set next Monday.
GAME NOTES:
- Stanford has connected for multiple home runs in each of the last 11 games (30 homers over the span) … had a string of five straight games scoring 9+ runs snapped on Sunday … has managed a home run in 11 consecutive games for the first time since a string of 16 straight from February 16 - March 16 last season … did not strike out for the first time since June 4, 2004 vs. UNLV
- JJ Moran (3-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBIs) has a hit in 16 of the first 19 games this season
- Jimmy Nati (1-for-4) has hit safely in seven straight games and has reached in 11 straight games
- Rintaro Sasaki drew a walk to extend his reached base streak to 11 games
- Teddy Tokheim (1-for-5) has reached in 12 straight games