Box Score PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The West Virginia University baseball team fell to No. 17 Pitt, 5-1, at Charles L. Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday afternoon.
 
In the 201st edition of the Backyard Brawl, the Mountaineers took an early 1-0 lead, before the Panthers scored the final five runs of the day. WVU finished with one run on eight hits with one error, while Pitt tallied five runs on 12 hits with no errors.
 
Freshman right-handed pitcher Carlson Reed took the loss for WVU after allowing four runs on five hits in 2.1 innings of work. Pitt's Chris Gomez was credited with the win.
 
The Mountaineers (11-12) got on the board early to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. WVU strung together three, two-out hits, including an RBI single off the bat of senior catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh.
 
From there, Reed breezed through the first and got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second, before Pitt (14-10) got to the Marietta, Georgia, native in the third. The Panthers plated four runs in the frame to take a 4-1 lead.
 
After junior right-hander Zach Ottinger relieved Reed in the third, redshirt sophomore righty Noah Short got the final two outs of the fourth. The Scott Depot, West Virginia, native also retired the side in the fifth and finished with a pair of strikeouts in 1.2, hitless innings.
 
Meanwhile, WVU went in order in the third, sixth and seventh. After Pitt tacked on another run in the bottom of the seventh, freshman infielder Mikey Kluska registered a two-out, infield single in the eighth but was stranded at first. WVU also tallied a base hit in the ninth but couldn't put a late rally together.
 
West Virginia's bullpen, featuring Ottinger, Short, sophomore left-hander Jake Carr, junior right-hander Madison Jeffrey and sophomore righty Jacob Watters, combined to allow just one run in 5.2 innings of relief on Tuesday. Along with Short, Jeffrey and Watters each struck out a pair.
 
Tuesday's loss snapped WVU's six-game win streak over the Panthers, dating back to 2016. Despite the setback, the Mountaineers lead the all-time series over Pitt, 109-92. The two teams are set to meet again on Wednesday, May 5, at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown.
 
Seven different players tallied a hit for WVU in the loss. McIntosh led the way with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.
 
Next up, West Virginia's seven-game road trip concludes with a three-game, weekend series at Baylor, from April 9-11, in Waco, Texas. First pitch of Friday's series opener is set for 8:30 p.m. ET, while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 4 p.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.
 
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