Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 62

Football returns to the Beano Cook Fields on Monday when Pitt opens its summer training camp, triggering the long process of defending the ACC championship. With 13 players back who were named All-ACC last year (on one level or another), expectations — not just hopes — are high. Yet, departed...

Indicative of the anticipated strength Pitt will employ in the trenches this season, defensive end Habakkuk Baldonado and defensive tackle Calijah Kancey were named to the 2022 All-ACC preseason team Baldonado, a senior from Rome, Italy, and Kancey, a junior from Miami, were part of Pitt’s pass rush last season...

The throws from shortstop don’t always land cleanly in the first baseman’s glove. And he still has a lot to learn about hitting against left-handed pitchers. But what better place for Oneil Cruz to discover what it takes to play big-league ball than the big leagues? Cruz showed why he’s...

The Pirates signed four more 2022 draft choices Tuesday, bringing the total to 14 players under contract from general manager Ben Cherington’s 21-man class. They are outfielder Tanner Tredaway (10th round), catcher Nick Cimillo (16th round) and pitchers Jaycob Deese and Elijah Birdsong (17th and 18th rounds). • Tredaway hit...

The ERAs are falling. Oneil Cruz is hitting home runs. Bryan Reynolds is back. And Ke’Bryan Hayes has reached base safely in 13 consecutive games Why, then, have the Pirates (40-58) lost four of five games since the All-Star break and eight of their past 10, including a 4-2 defeat...

If Pitt football fans are looking for a discussion topic in the days before the start of summer camp, the ACC obliged Tuesday with the release of its preseason poll. In a vote of 164 reporters last week during the ACC Football Kickoff, defending ACC champion Pitt — with eight...

JT Brubaker did his part Monday night at Wrigley Field when the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats failed again and one ill-timed error led to the Chicago Cubs’ 3-2 victory. The Pirates’ starting pitcher worked through some early problems with his slider, didn’t allow hard contact by Cubs batters to deter him...

Two hours before the start of a two-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates received a significant boost to their lineup when Bryan Reynolds was activated from the injured list and inserted into center field. He will bat second in the order against the Cubs...

Pitt offensive line coach Dave Borbely typically doesn’t feel comfortable until he finds enough big bodies to completely fill out his two-deep depth chart. With all five starters moving on next year after their upcoming redshirt senior seasons, Borbely must be pleased with how the 2023 recruiting class is developing....

With camp starting on the first day of August, it’s a good time for Pat Narduzzi to clarify how he wants Pitt’s offensive identity to evolve this season. “I want to score touchdowns. I like touchdowns,” he said Thursday during his appearance on the ACC Network. “I don’t care how...

The most discussed coach Thursday at the ACC Football Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., was, of course, Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi. After all, he might have been the only man wearing signature-embroidered cuffs on his dress shirt at the Westin Charlotte. But the real reason for Narduzzi’s celebrity was that his Panthers...

The hype machine for the renewal of the Backyard Brawl hit another gear Thursday when ESPN announced it will bring its popular “College GameDay” show to Acrisure Stadium on Sept. 1 for the West Virginia/Pitt game. The special, one-hour show goes on the air at 6 p.m. and will include...

The retooling of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line continued Tuesday with the signing of veteran tackle Doug Costin to a one-year contract. Costin (6-foot-2, 295 pounds) spent the past two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals. He played in 13 games, starting nine, recording 33 tackles (13 solos),...

Pitt junior catcher Tatem Levins was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, earning the distinction of the Panthers’ highest draft choice since 2018. In the process, Pitt coach Mike Bell can add another name to his resume. Levins is the 94th...

Right-handed pitcher Trey Braithwaite, a fifth-year senior at West Virginia, was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 16th round of the MLB Draft on Tuesday. Braithwaite, a transfer from Navy, was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was a third-team National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-American. He...

The Milwaukee Brewers selected former Pine-Richland and Penn State catcher Matt Wood in the fourth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, perhaps impressed by the take-charge attitude he has cultivated throughout his baseball career. “You’re the commander on the field,” he said from his home in Gibsonia. “You get...

Mindful that the Pittsburgh Pirates are off until Friday, Derek Shelton called on nearly half of the strong arms in the clubhouse on the way to an 8-3 victory Sunday against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Bryse Wilson was brought up from Triple-A Indianapolis to start the game and...

In need of a starter for the final game before the All-Star break, the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday recalled right-hander Bryse Wilson from Triple-A Indianapolis. Wilson was the starting pitcher in the final game of the three-game series against the Colorado Rockies and worked the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing...

Derek Shelton wanted to give his bullpen a break Friday night after he called on a relief pitcher 14 times during the four-game series in Miami that included two that went into extra innings. The plan didn’t work out the way Shelton hoped. Starting pitcher Jose Quintana was a good...

The Jack Suwinski story that includes more home runs than anyone on the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster is on pause. The Pirates optioned Suwinski to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday while he’s in the midst of an 0-for-29 slump that began with his last at-bat against the New York Yankees on...

Luke Williams didn’t hit the baseball exceptionally hard. It came off the bat of the Miami Marlins left fielder at only 73.7 mph, according to Statcast, and rolled across the loanDepot Park infield and into shortstop Oneil Cruz’s glove Thursday night. Effortlessly, Cruz bent over to field the ball (no...

Zach Thompson watched in awe Thursday at Miami’s loanDepot Park when Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Oneil Cruz rifled a throw across the infield at 97.8 mph. Faster than any of the 100 pitches Thompson threw in the Pirates’ 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Marlins. Faster than any throw — by any...

The Pittsburgh Pirates had little success with their bats Thursday in a 3-2, 11-inning loss to the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. Marlins pitchers allowed only six hits and recorded 16 strikeouts, nearly half of their 33 outs. Worse, pinch hitter Daniel Vogelbach and designated hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo struck out...

Before Pitt center John Hugley IV makes his final preparations for the 2022-2023 season, he will join Butler High School graduate and Purdue junior guard Ethan Morton on a trip to Spain. Hugley and Morton are among 14 collegiate players who were named to the East Coast All-Stars that will...