Pitt pitchers strike out 16 more Florida State batters in 2nd consecutive victory
The strikeouts kept coming Saturday night, helping lift Pitt to its second consecutive victory against No. 9 Florida State, 7-2, at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla.
Starting pitcher Matt Gilbertson (2-0) threw six scoreless innings and struck out a career-high 10 while allowing only five hits and two walks. Gilbertson, Chase Smith and Hansen combined for 16 strikeouts and just three walks. Hansen struck out the side in the ninth.
In two games against the Seminoles this weekend, including a 1-0 victory Friday, the Panthers have combined for 35 strikeouts. The final game of the series is at 2 p.m. Sunday.
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FIRST-EVER SWEEP OF FLORIDA STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!#H2P pic.twitter.com/ruWoKcGlbS
— Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) March 1, 2021
Pitt (5-1, 2-0) earned its first series victory against Florida State (2-3, 0-2) and first series triumph against a top-10 team since joining the ACC in 2014.
“I really like what I’m seeing as the guys are coming together, not only a team but as a program,” said coach Mike Bell, a former Florida State assistant. “I’m excited for them.”
Sky Duff, Nico Popa and Kyle Hess each collected two hits and all five of Pitt’s RBIs. Popa hit his second homer of the season in the fourth inning and doubled in the sixth before scoring on an error.
Florida State scored two runs in the seventh inning to break Pitt’s combined shutout streak of 19 innings and 58 consecutive outs dating to the 7-2 victory against Jacksonville on Tuesday night.
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Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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