Trailing 6-5, with two outs and down their last strike the top of the ninth inning, Kai Wagner golfed a three-run home run to right-center field, giving the Panthers an 8-6 lead, and David Leslie retired the side in order to give No. 14 Pitt a quarterfinal win over No. 3 Florida State in the ACC Tournament at Truist Park in Charlotte, N.C.
It was Wagner's second home run of the game. His solo shot in the fifth inning gave the Panthers a 5-1 lead.
The Panthers built a 4-0 lead in the first inning on a single by Caden Dulin and a throwing error by the Seminoles, then a three-run home run by Trey Fenderson. They carriesd a four-run lead through the top of the fifth, but a grand slam by Florida State's Ben Barrett knotted it a 5-5 after five.
Barrett factored into the Seminoles taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth, when his ground ball to Fenderson at second base led to an error that scored a run, giving FSU their only lead of the game, at 6-5.
A single by AJ Nessler and a two-out walk by Lorenzo Carrier led to Wagner's heroics.
Leslie struck out six in his three hitless innings of relief, walking two and giving up one unearned run.
The Panthers will now face No. 2 North Carolina in the semifinals, Saturday at 5 p.m. No. 1 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Miami play the first semifinal at 1 p.m.
THE ASYLUM
Wagner blast stuns FSU
Trailing 6-5, with two outs and down their last strike the top of the ninth inning, Kai Wagner golfed a three-run home run to right-center field, giving the Panthers an 8-6 lead, and David Leslie retired the side in order to give No. 14 Pitt a quarterfinal win over No. 3 Florida State in the ACC Tournament at Truist Park in Charlotte, N.C.
It was Wagner's second home run of the game. His solo shot in the fifth inning gave the Panthers a 5-1 lead.
The Panthers built a 4-0 lead in the first inning on a single by Caden Dulin and a throwing error by the Seminoles, then a three-run home run by Trey Fenderson. They carriesd a four-run lead through the top of the fifth, but a grand slam by Florida State's Ben Barrett knotted it a 5-5 after five.
Barrett factored into the Seminoles taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth, when his ground ball to Fenderson at second base led to an error that scored a run, giving FSU their only lead of the game, at 6-5.
A single by AJ Nessler and a two-out walk by Lorenzo Carrier led to Wagner's heroics.
Leslie struck out six in his three hitless innings of relief, walking two and giving up one unearned run.
The Panthers will now face No. 2 North Carolina in the semifinals, Saturday at 5 p.m. No. 1 Georgia Tech and No. 5 Miami play the first semifinal at 1 p.m.
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