Pitt Hands Eagles First Shutout to Even Series

Friday, March 25

Pittsburgh, PA

1:00 PM

Boston College

13-7, 3-5-0

Pittsburgh

10-9, 3-5-0

Boston College

Pitt

Photo by: Jim Pierce

Pitt Hands Eagles First Shutout to Even Series

March 25, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

Stromberg pitches two innings of scoreless relief

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Pittsburgh 5, Boston College 0
Records: Boston College (13-7, 3-5 ACC) at Pittsburgh (10-9, 3-5 ACC)
Series Record: The series is tied at 1-1
Location: Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pa.

BC HIGHLIGHTS

Junior Chris Balogh came in to pinch hit in the eighth and logged his first career extra-base with a lead-off double.
Freshman left-hand reliever Zach Stromberg threw two scoreless innings of relief without allowing a hit or walk. He struck out one.
Sophomore Jake Palomaki went 2-for-4 on the day. He has recorded at least one hit in 13 of the Eagles' 20 games and reached base in 17 contests.

KEY PLAYS
The Panthers only needed the two runs scored in the third for the victory as starter RHP Aaron Sandefur pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out a career-high 12. He allowed just five hits and did not walk a batter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Pittsburgh notched two in the third as Yaya Chentouf drew a lead-off walk before left-handed starter senior Jesse Adams got the first out swinging. Charles LeBlanc singled through the left side to put two on and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. With runners in scoring position, Adams threw another wild pitch to allow Chentouf to score the first run of the game. Alex Kowalczyk hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate the second run before a popup to short ended the inning.
The Panthers added a run in the fifth as Frank Maldonado led off with a stand-up double and moved to third on a groundout. Matt Johnson brought him home on a squeeze. After a two-out single, freshman right-hander Thomas Lane entered and with runners on first and second, forced a grounder back to the mound to get out of the inning.
Pitt scored two more in the sixth. With one down, Lane walked two batters and Maldonado singled up the middle to plate a run. Redshirt sophomore RHP Bobby Skogsbergh entered the game, but gave up a single to Chentouf to plate another. The Eagles were able to catch Maldonado between second and third for the second out. Skogsbergh got a fly ball to get out of the inning.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The only other time BC and Pitt met in ACC action – in 2014 – each team won a game, forcing a rubber match. Pitt won the third game, 16-11, in Chestnut Hill to take the series after the Eagles held an 8-0 lead after two innings.
The last time an opposing pitcher threw a complete game shutout against BC was on April 24, 2015 when North Carolina's Zac Gallen recorded a 1-0 victory.
It was the first time in 2016 the Eagles did not plate a run. The last time they were shut out was on April 5, 2015 in a 6-0 loss at North Carolina.
BC also did not draw a walk for the second time this season. The first was at Clemson on March 20 when neither team issued a walk.
The BC defense did not commit an error in the loss. The Eagles are 10-5 when logging one or no errors on the day.
BC and Pitt both tallied five hits. The Eagles have yet to win a game when tying with the opponent for hits, going 0-3 in 2016.

UP NEXT
The Eagles and Panthers will play the rubber match on Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m.