Panthers Outlast Blue Devils 4-3 in 10 Innings

Saturday, March 21

Durham, N.C. (Durham Bulls Athletic Park)

1:00 PM

Duke University

Pittsburgh

Perez Homers in Duke?s 5-2 Win over Longwood

Panthers Outlast Blue Devils 4-3 in 10 Innings

3/21/2015 7:01:00 PM | Baseball

By: Duke Sports Information

DURHAM, N.C. – Tied 2-2 after nine innings of play, the Panthers' Nick Yarnall launched a two-run home run in the top of the 10^th to propel Pitt to a 4-3 victory Saturday afternoon at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Blue Devils scored a run in the bottom of the 10th, but had the tying run thrown out at the plate for the final out.

“From a fan's perspective, it was a heckuva ballgame,” said head coach Chris Pollard. “Two teams going at it toe-to-toe. Give Pitt a lot of credit, they never gave in.”

Yarnall had a tremendous day at the plate, contributing two home runs, a double and three RBI. His solo shot in the sixth put Pitt (10-11, 4-4 ACC) up 2-1 before his two-run bomb in the 10^th ultimately clinched the victory.

“Yarnall hurt us all day today,” Pollard said. “He took good swings. We left a couple of pitches up and he made us pay for it.”

Duke (17-6, 3-5 ACC) nearly came away with the walkoff victory in the ninth, but Panthers' catcher Alex Kowalcyzk made a nice play to prevent the run. With speedy freshman Evan Dougherty at third, a wild pitch got away from Kowalczyk, but he tracked it down and threw Dougherty out at home to conclude the inning.

“When we got the winning run at third base, their catcher made a great individual effort,” Pollard added. “He made a heckuva play with our fastest baserunner and it was a bang-bang play at the plate.”

The momentum carried over into the top of the 10^th as Charles Leblanc singled with one out prior to Yarnall's second home run of the day clearing the right field fence.

Down 4-2, the Blue Devils did not go down without a fight, mounting a two-out rally in the bottom half. With just one out remaining, redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips blasted a double to right center, his second hit of the game. Senior Andy Perez, who reached base in three of his five plate appearances, was hit by a pitch before senior Grant McCabe drew the pinch-hit walk to load the bases.

Dougherty then stepped to the plate and smacked a single through the 5-6 hole. Phillips scored easily, but the throw from Pitt left fielder Jacob Wright beat Perez to the plate for the final out of the game.

“There's no quit in these guys,” Pollard said. “We had some of our best at bats with two outs in the 10^th. Jalen has a great at bat. Andy uses the HBP. Terrific job by Grant McCabe coming off the bench. I'm really proud of Evan. He's scuffled a little bit offensively and then he comes up in the biggest spot in the game and delivers. Their left fielder just made a great individual play. You tip your hat.”

A game that ended in an exciting finish originally began as a pitcher's duel between Duke's Andrew Istler and Pitt's Aaron Sandefur. The two right-handers combined for 20 strikeouts in the contest.

Istler fanned a career-high 12 batters over 6.1 innings of work. With the exception of the two solo home runs, Pitt only had one baserunner in scoring position during Istler's outing, which spanned 6.1 innings. He scattered five hits, allowed two runs and walked just one in the no decision.

Following four scoreless innings, the Panthers plated the game's opening run in the top of the fifth when Frank Maldonado belted a leadoff solo shot. Istler settled down and struck out the side to keep the deficit at one run.

Duke wasted little time knotting the score, sending a run around in the bottom half. Freshman Jack Labosky coaxed a leadoff walk before advancing to second and third on consecutive groundouts. Phillips then came through with the clutch RBI single, lining an 0-2 pitch to right field.

Yarnall belted a solo home run with two outs in the sixth to put Pitt on top, 2-1. The Blue Devils countered with a Cris Perez solo shot in the seventh to once again tie the score. The homer, blasted to left center on a 3-2 count, was Perez's first of the season and second of his career.

Neither team would score again until the 10^th inning.

Junior Kenny Koplove (1-1) took the loss, the first of his career. He allowed a run for the first time this season on Yarnall's two-run homer. Koplove yielded the two run on five hits. He also struck out three over his 1.2 innings in relief.

“Kenny's done a heckuva job,” Pollard said. “Really everyone pitched well for us today. Istler threw an incredible ballgame. Sarkis [Ohanian] came in and picked him up. Mitch [Stallings] had a great eighth inning and keeps the runner at third from scoring. Kenny threw the ball great and we just left in there a little too long.”

Pitt reliever Hobie Harris (2-2) held on for the win, pitching the final 3.1 innings for the Panthers. Harris allowed the one run on four hits and a walk.

Duke and Pitt return to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park for the final game of the series Sunday, Mar. 21. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.

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