Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 42
After injury scare, Duane Underwood Jr. gives up homer but throws strikes in Pirates’ loss
Duane Underwood Jr. was not minimizing the solo home run he surrendered to the Texas Rangers’ Josh Jung on Tuesday night at PNC Park. The game was a lost cause at that point — top of the eighth inning of what became the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 6-1 loss to the American...
Former Pitt star Gilbert Brown made sure Jeff Capel knew about Papa Kante
Two years ago, when Gilbert Brown was hired as Pitt’s Director of Alumni and Player Development, Papa Kante started appearing on Jeff Capel’s radar. Capel might have noticed Kante, anyway. A 6-foot-10, 225-pound player with a 7-foot-4 wing span who can hit 3-pointers is hard to miss. Still, Brown —...
Ex-Pitt players bring back Zoo Crew to seek $1M tournament prize
With a $1 million prize at stake, it’s no wonder The Zoo Crew is making a comeback. The Zoo Crew, a group of former Pitt basketball players, will compete this year in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), a 64-team, single-elimination event. The first game will be July 25 in the West...
Pirates’ Austin Hedges says building trust with pitchers can keep catchers in the lineup
Austin Hedges learned a long time ago that a catcher’s best friend is often the pitcher he’s entrusted to shepherd through a game. The relationship works both ways, of course, but for Hedges learning to build trust with the pitchers is one way to enter the starting lineup. “Some of...
Pitt lands 6-10 center, ex-Michigan 4-star recruit Papa Kante for its freshman class
Pitt coach Jeff Capel sent a message — in a big way — that he wasn’t finished recruiting the high school class of 2023 when he received a commitment Monday from 6-foot-10 four-star center Papa Kante of South Kent, Conn. Kante, who signed with Michigan in November, requested and received...
Pitt earns spot in ACC baseball tournament for 3rd straight year
Despite losing its final three games and four of the last five regular-season contests, Pitt baseball built up enough equity to earn a berth in the ACC Tournament — thanks to Florida State’s victory against Louisville last Saturday. Starting Wednesday in Durham (N.C.) Bulls Athletics Park, Pitt (23-30, 10-18) will...
Duquesne lands 6-10 N.C. State transfer Dusan Mahorcic
Two months after the end of the season, Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot continues his quest to rebuild the Dukes’ roster, his efforts paying a big dividend Friday when 6-foot-10 Dusan Mahorcic, a transfer from N.C. State, announced on Instagram that he will enroll this year. Mahorcic started nine of the...
Seton Hill advances in NCAA Tournament with all-time victory No. 688 for coach Marc Marizzaldi
If Marc Marizzaldi ever decides to risk losing focus on his team’s ultimate goal — reaching the Division II College World Series — he might know how many games he has won in 18 seasons at Seton Hill. But he’s not counting. Marizzaldi has more important duties as the only...
Former Steel Valley, Duquesne linebacker Todd Hill plans to transfer to Pitt
Linebacker Todd Hill, who helped lead Steel Valley to WPIAL championships in 2016 and 2018 and a PIAA title in 2016, announced on his Twitter account that he is transferring from Duquesne to Pitt. ✅ pic.twitter.com/Q8Eb1NdkPW— ☦odd ♓️ill (@Toddhill_9) May 18, 2023 Hill (5-foot-10, 240 pounds) was an elite pass...
Analysis: Hard work, tough choices lie ahead, but ACC, Pitt still have strong legs to stand on
Flipping through the pages of the history of the past 12 years of Pitt football – so long ago that Todd Graham was still relevant and Pat Narduzzi was a mere Big Ten coordinator – you’ll run across how the Big East crumbled and Mark Nordenberg and Steve Pederson, former...
Pirates’ bats remain silent in shutout loss to Tigers
Derek Shelton became the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates partially because of his success as a hitting coach. But if he has anything in mind to fix what’s wrong with the hitters currently under his command, he wasn’t ready to talk about them Tuesday night after the Pirates’ 4-0 loss...
Baseball, Pirates, tequila come together at PNC Park
The baseball experience at PNC Park will now come with a taste of tequila after the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday announced a three-year partnership with Real Azul, a tequila brand imported from Jalisco, Mexico. The agreement includes naming rights to the premium club on PNC Park’s suite level, formerly known...
After throwing 16 scoreless innings, Pirates’ Mitch Keller honored as NL Player of the Week
Mitch Keller became the second Pittsburgh Pirates player this season named National League Player of the Week, joining outfielder Bryan Reynolds, who was so honored last month. Keller is the first Pirates pitcher named NL Player of the Week since Jameson Taillon in April 2018. Keller, 27, won both starts...
Behind ace Mitch Keller — and despite struggles — Pirates near 1st through season’s opening quarter
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a .154 winning percentage since the last day of April, but look at those standings: They are only 1½ games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central. How did that happen? The division isn’t offering serious competition at the moment. The Brewers (23-17)...
Mitch Keller dominant while striking out 13 in Pirates victory
No one needed to tell Austin Hedges about Mitch Keller’s dominance Sunday in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-0 victory against the Baltimore Orioles. Nonetheless, when Orioles players walked to the plate, holding bats that turned out to be useless in most cases, they kept marveling at what the Pirates’ ace pitcher...
Pirates notebook: Ben Cherington shows patience as catchers Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis develop defensively
Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday he understands fans’ eagerness to see if minor-league catchers Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis can help the major-league club, but he wants to continue to monitor their development in Triple-A and Double-A. “We came into the season with pretty simple, but pretty...
Pirates closer David Bednar embraces role as native son
After making 13 of a possible 29 appearances in March/April — one inning almost every other day — David Bednar pitched just twice in the first 10 days of May. There wasn’t any need for a closer during the ongoing period when the Pittsburgh Pirates lost nine of 10 and...
It’s official: Pitt will spend Thanksgiving in Brooklyn for the NIT Season Tip-Off
Pitt made its Thanksgiving plans official Thursday with the announcement that the Panthers will be one of four teams participating in the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The dates — Nov. 22 and 24 — are the days immediately before and after the holiday. Pitt’s...
After uttering anti-gay slur, WVU’s Bob Huggins will coach this season, but with a salary reduction, suspension
West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins will not lose his job, but he will pay a price for uttering an anti-gay slur Monday on a Cincinnati radio station. He will forfeit $1 million from his $4.2 million annual salary and face a three-game suspension, according to a statement released Wednesday...
Pirates’ Josh Palacios learns hot bat doesn’t matter if your phone’s dead
When Josh Palacios went to dinner Monday night with Indianapolis Indians teammates Chavez Young and Vinny Capra, he never imagined that disaster would strike. He didn’t forget his wallet, and there was nothing wrong with the food at the hibachi restaurant in Minneapolis’ Mall of America. Those things the Pittsburgh...
Pitt fires softball coach Jodi Hermanek after 5 seasons
Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke continued to weed out the unsuccessful coaches in her department Monday when softball’s Jodi Hermanek was dismissed after five seasons. In the past two months, women’s basketball coach Lance White and gymnastics’ Samantha Snider were fired. Hermanek was hired at the end of the 2018...
Pitt basketball’s nonconference plans include trip to Brooklyn for Preseason NIT
Add Brooklyn to the travel destinations for the Pitt basketball team this year. Pitt will play two games in the 2023 Preseason NIT at the Barclays Center. NEWS: Baylor, Pitt, Florida, and Oregon State will headline the 2023 Preseason NIT at the Barclays Center, according to a source.There was no...
Pitt gets commitment from high school linebacker Davin Brewton
Pitt has been busy collecting verbal commitments for its class of 2024, but coach Pat Narduzzi needed a linebacker or two. That pursuit found Davin Brewton, a rising senior at Red Bank Catholic (N.J.) High School, who gave Narduzzi a verbal commitment Thursday. Time (2) Commit- Through The Grace of...
Pitt secures verbal commitment from transfer offensive lineman Jackson Brown, formerly of California
Three people led freshman offensive lineman Jackson Brown to transfer from California to Pitt — coach Pat Narduzzi, line coach Dave Borbely and Brown’s father, Tony, who was an offensive lineman for the Panthers from 1983-1985. Sadly, Tony Brown’s contribution came from afar. Tony Brown died in 2010, but his...
Penn State gets approval of $70 million expenditure to begin initial stage of Beaver Stadium renovation
The proposed Beaver Stadium renovation project cleared its initial hurdle Thursday when the Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning approved an expenditure of $70 million to pay for priority maintenance projects, winterizing and architectural and design development. The entire board is scheduled to vote...
