The Panthers, seeded 14th, became the only double-digit seed to advance to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals after beating No. 6 Wake Forest, 7-4, Wednesday night at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga. Pitt will now play No. 3 Florida State. The Panthers were recently swept by the Seminoles in a three-game series at Tallahassee, but two of the games were highly competitive.
Wednesday's game start was delayed due to heavy rains in the area, and the game did not finish until almost 2 a.m. ET.
The Panthers built an early 3-0 lead without much work from the bats, drawing several early walks to load the bases — 11 walks drawn in the game — and scoring on two wild pitches and a walk.
Wake Forest tied the game in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run by Dalton Wentz, but Pitt took the lead for good in the top of the fifth inning, after Trey Fenderson scored on a passed ball. The offense added another run in the top of sixth, wirh Fenderson driving in Kai Wagner on a double off the top of the wall in left-center field — it was the Panthers' first hit with runners in scoring position after going 0 for 12 to that point. Two more runs were tacked on in the seventh. Joey Baran scored on a ground out by AJ Nessler, and Caden Dulin scored Derrick Tarpley Jr. with a two-out single to left.
Pitt junior Drew Lafferty gave the team five strong innings in his start, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk on 89 pitches. Four Pitt relievers combined to limit the Demon Deacons to one run on two hits over the final four innings, with Eddie Smink coming on to get the final two outs of the game, each with the tying run at the plate.
The Panthers now improve to 32-23 on the season. Any chance at a College World Series tournament berth will require they win the ACC Tournament to get an automatic bid.
THE ASYLUM
Panthers down Wake, Seminoles next
The Panthers, seeded 14th, became the only double-digit seed to advance to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals after beating No. 6 Wake Forest, 7-4, Wednesday night at Truist Park in Atlanta, Ga. Pitt will now play No. 3 Florida State. The Panthers were recently swept by the Seminoles in a three-game series at Tallahassee, but two of the games were highly competitive.
Wednesday's game start was delayed due to heavy rains in the area, and the game did not finish until almost 2 a.m. ET.
The Panthers built an early 3-0 lead without much work from the bats, drawing several early walks to load the bases — 11 walks drawn in the game — and scoring on two wild pitches and a walk.
Wake Forest tied the game in the bottom of the third on a two-run home run by Dalton Wentz, but Pitt took the lead for good in the top of the fifth inning, after Trey Fenderson scored on a passed ball. The offense added another run in the top of sixth, wirh Fenderson driving in Kai Wagner on a double off the top of the wall in left-center field — it was the Panthers' first hit with runners in scoring position after going 0 for 12 to that point. Two more runs were tacked on in the seventh. Joey Baran scored on a ground out by AJ Nessler, and Caden Dulin scored Derrick Tarpley Jr. with a two-out single to left.
Pitt junior Drew Lafferty gave the team five strong innings in his start, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk on 89 pitches. Four Pitt relievers combined to limit the Demon Deacons to one run on two hits over the final four innings, with Eddie Smink coming on to get the final two outs of the game, each with the tying run at the plate.
The Panthers now improve to 32-23 on the season. Any chance at a College World Series tournament berth will require they win the ACC Tournament to get an automatic bid.
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