Pitt baseball coach Joe Jordano has taken the time-honored cliché "Playing them one at a time" to the next level.

"We're taking it one pitch at a time," he said earlier this week. "One pitch can be the difference between winning a game or losing a game, so we want to focus on every pitch."

The e-mails he sends to his players all end with the same message: 'Every pitch, every game, every day."

Matt Litzinger, a senior outfielder from Serra Catholic High School and Lincoln Place, has been around Jordano a long time and understands what the coach is emphasizing.

"When you buy into the system, it makes sense," said Litzinger (.352 average, 2 HR, 8 RBI), who missed the first six games of the season with a pulled hamstring. "Everyone on this team is willing to sacrifice bunt. No-one is out for themselves; that's something that hindered us my first three years."

The Panthers were 16-7 overall (going into yesterday's scheduled game at Duquesne) and 4-2 in the Big East Conference. They have won two-of-three in series against league opponents Cincinnati and Notre Dame heading into a three-game series this weekend at South Florida.

"The strength of our team is hitting," Litzinger said. "Our philosophy is that we want to score one run every inning."

Pitt has just about reached that goal, averaging more than nine runs per game with a team batting average of .328. The Panthers are led by junior second baseman Chris Sedon (.438, 9 HR, 31 RBI), a transfer from Lackawanna Community College, and Joe Leonard (.386, 4 HR, 23 RBI), a 6-foot-5 sophomore third baseman from Connellsville who was the team's leading hitter last season with a .335 average.

Litzinger has raised his average this season because he said he's seeing the ball better after undergoing eye surgery in the fall.

"It's amazing how much it has worked," said Litzinger, who has strengthened his vision with eye exercises. "I've always struggled with my hitting ... until now."

Litzinger also has become more of a leader this season, a role he gladly embraces.

"You earn the leadership position," he said. "It means I've got to be the one everyone looks up to. That's more of what I should be doing as a senior."

Although the season still is in its infancy, Litzinger likes the growth and maturity he's seen of these Panthers.

"We're in every game," he said. "We were down 6-0 to Akron in the first inning and came back to win, 14-13. Last year when we got down 2-0 or 3-0, it seemed like we felt it was over. Not this year. If everyone keeps their confidence, it will be a year to remember."

One of the keys to Pitt's success will be the development of David Kaye, a hard-throwing sophomore right-handed pitcher who graduated from Riverview High School.

Kaye, selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 30th round of the 2007 MLB draft, is 1-2 with a 4.06 earned-run average in eight appearances and 31 innings. He has started four games with one complete game, a two-hitter in a 6-0 victory against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.

"He deserves to start," Jordano said of Kaye, who led the Panthers with a 2.52 ERA last season. "He has one of the better arms on the team in terms of velocity."

Jordano said Kaye's fastball usually ranges between 88-90 miles per hour, but "he can pop 91."

It's too early for Jordano to gush too much over his Panthers, but he likes the way his team has been playing.

"The challenge is to keep everybody on the same page," he said. "The roles on the team will be changing as the season evolves. We have so many roles.

"This is a solid team. We're swinging well and playing solid defense. We could be a little more consistent on the mound."

He added after a pause, "I like where we are."