PITTSBURGH – Weekday college baseball games can often be memorable. Usually there are one-sided matchups outside of the conference where the coaches protect their best pitchers and roll out a series of bullpen arms that bridge the gap between subsequent series against the league’s opponents that happen every weekend.

But Pitt head coach Mike Bell was firmly convinced after beating Lipscomb on Tuesday afternoon that he doesn’t want to let who the opponent are, how his team plays that day.

“The baseball game will humiliate you instantly,” said Bell. “If you try to worry about what is in that other dugout instead of playing baseball and what we can control, it will hurt you and it will quickly humiliate you.”

The panthers heeded Bell’s message. # 19 Pitt (18-10) started fast and retired late to take a 9-6 win over Lipscomb (11-17) on Wednesday afternoon. A heavy relief in the middle inning from the bullpen and a 3-on-5 day with three RBIs from Kyle Hess, the left junior field player, provided the offensive.

The Pitt offensive hammered bison starter Patrick Williams and marked him with four well-deserved runs in the first inning. Sophomore’s third baseman Sky Duff led the inning with a single, then right junior fielder Nico Popa walked. The next batsman, Hess, doubled down to drive into Duff for the game’s first score.

Batsman-designate Ron Washington Jr. followed Hess’ hit with a sacrificial fly. Hess moved up to third place in the game and then hit Bat the next time on a wild field. Hullett finished the inning with a runscoring double, making it 4-0 Panthers before recording a second out at the end of the first.

But the bison refused to go quietly. They responded with a run – a solo home run by Redshirt junior batsman Chris Bashlor – on top of the second. Lipscomb added two more runs from a single from Trey Ham, the rookie third baseman, and a sacrificial fly from Brian Moore.

The bison had shortened Pitt’s lead to just one by the middle of the fourth and was now holding the whole momentum. But the panthers weren’t long on their heels.

In the lower half of the inning, a three-way three from Hess brought Pitt back 6-3, regaining control of a game that threatened to get away from them.

E4: Pitt 6, Lipscomb 3@ Hessy21Kyle tripled to extend the panther leadership‼ ️# H2P pic.twitter.com/89gqLz9Oli

– Pitt Baseball (@Pitt_BASE) April 13, 2021

“Whenever you can answer when we score, it’s important that they shut off zero at the next inning,” said Bell. “Every time you can score, it just gets a lot out of the dugout.”

Panther’s starter Chris Gomez was drawn after just four innings of work, and the bullpen was admirably relieved. Junior Righty CJ McKennit was the bridge that connected Pitt from a shaky fourth to a comfortable win. He threw 2 ⅔ innings and didn’t give up runs while hitting three.

“I liked Gomez,” said Bell. “He filled the strike zone for four innings. I thought CJ McKenitt was phenomenal. We really have to CJ down the track trying to build this bullpen. “

Other offensive contributors for the Panthers include Duff and Popa, who together went 5 to 9 on the plate and scored five runs. The junior center fielder Jordan Anderson also caused another spark at the end of the job. He collected two hits and scored two hits on Tuesday.

Pitt was originally scheduled to play two games against the bison, but the second game – originally scheduled for Wednesday afternoon – has been canceled due to travel conflicts with the Lipscomb program. Instead, the Panthers are waiting for another three-game ACC within the friendly confines of Charles L. Cost. You will face off against rival Coastal Division North Carolina starting Friday at 6pm