April 12, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Pittsburgh RHP Ethan Mildren tossed a complete-game, three-hit shutout to lead the Panthers past the University of Notre Dame, 4-0, Friday night at Charles L. Cost Field. The 16th-ranked Fighting Irish dropped to 19-12 overall and 4-6 in the BIG EAST, while the Panthers improved to 22-9 and 4-3.
Mildren improved to 6-2 on the year following his third straight complete game. He struck out three and walked two. Mildren surrendered hits to two of the first three Notre Dame batters on the night, but then proceeded to retire the next 10 Irish batters. Mildren allowed just two base runners (an error and walk) over the next six frames.
Notre Dame did threaten in the top of the eighth inning. Sophomore Mac Hudgins reached with a pinch-hit single and senior 2B Frank Desico walked. Mildren then fell behind in the count, 3-0, to freshman RF Zak Kutsulis, but rebounded with three straight called strikes that ended the inning and for all intents and purposes the contest.
Mildren cruised through the ninth inning and retired Notre Dame 1-2-3.
Sophomore RHP Pat Connaughton was charged with the loss and dropped to 0-2 on the season. He was roughed up for three runs, all earned, on six hits in 4.2 innings of work. Connaughton fanned three and walked four.
Freshman RHP Nick McCarty and junior RHP Donnie Hissa each tossed 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Pittsburgh grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second inning. Sam Parente led off the inning with single through the right side of the infield. Following a pair of outs, Stephen Vranka came through with a triple off the wall in right field to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Pitt tacked on a pair of runs in the home half of the fifth to extend its lead to 3-0. Casey Roche started the rally with a leadoff double. A Boo Vazquez groundout advanced Roche to third base, which allowed him to score on a sacrifice fly from Elvin Soto. Steven Shelinsky Jr. kept the inning alive with a two-out single and was rewarded with a run after a Parente triple to right center.
Soto added to the Pitt lead in the bottom of the seventh when he blasted his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot, into deep right field to make the score 4-0.
The Panthers and Irish will be back in action at 3 p.m. Saturday. Matt Wotherspoon (4-1, 3.09 ERA) will get the ball for Pitt, while Notre Dame will send Adam Norton (7-0, 1.72 ERA) to the mound.