Road weary Pitt visits Blacksburg on Friday for an ACC series with No. 12 Virginia Tech.
The Panthers (8-15, 0-3 ACC) have played all of their 23 games on the road this season and are in the midst of a nine-game, 10-day road stretch that began at the FGCU Spring Break Classic on March 8. After playing the Hokies (18-3-1, 6-0), they’ll finally return home for a midweek game with Penn State.
The Friday game will be televised on the ACC Network with the remaining two games on ACC Network Extra.
Pitt was picked last in the ACC preseason poll and was dominated in its opening ACC series against Georgia Tech. Not only did it drop all three games to the Yellow Jackets, it was run-ruled by scores of 14-5, 10-1 and 8-0.
But the Panthers appear to be slowly turning things around. After losing nine games in a row, they’re 2-2 in the last week and outscored their opponents 18-9. They had a solid 9-1 run-rule win over Purdue last Saturday, their best outing of the season.
Offensively, the Panthers are averaging just three runs per game and have a team batting average of .237. They have with only two hitters that are currently hitting over .240.
Senior second baseman Kat Rodriquez bats leadoff and leads Pitt in hitting (.354), hits (23), on-base percentage (.419), slugging percentage (.569) and stolen bases (4/5). Sophomore outfielder Macy Hamilton bats second and is hitting .327.
The Panthers are also struggling in the circle with a team ERA of 4.60. Maryland transfer Kyra Pittman (4-5, 3.33 ERA) and Akron transfer Olivia Stefanoni (2-4, 4.60 ERA) have started 15 of the 22 games this season, but junior Adriana Romano (1-2, 4.45 ERA) has 28 career starts and could be called upon as well. Stefanoni gives Pittsburgh an option from the left side.
The Hokies lead the all-time series 25-11 and have won nine of the last 10 games between the two schools. The lone Pitt victory in that span was a 5-3 game in Blacksburg in 2021.
Virginia Tech is coming off a disappointing non-conference loss to Charlotte on Wednesday but is 6-0 in the ACC after sweeping Louisville last weekend. The Hokies have outscored their ACC opponents by a combined margin of 49-15 in those six games.
They seven regulars who are hitting .310 or better:
In ACC play, the Tech pitching staff has been in lock down mode with a combined ERA of 1.17 and 47 strikeouts in 42 innings. Freshman Emma Mazzarone has thrown 13 ⅓ innings in ACC play without surrendering an earned run. Meanwhile, Emma Lemley has struck out 17 batters in 12 ⅓ innings while Lyndsey Grein has rung up 15 in 15 innings.
Here is the tale of the tape:
