Pitt Drops Game One at NC State

Thursday, May 18

Raleigh, NC

6 PM

Pitt

23-28, 10-16

NC State

32-18, 11-16

Pittsburgh

NC State

5/18/2023 10:14:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score Gamebook

RALEIGH, NC – The Panthers (23-28, 10-16 ACC) fall to the Wolfpack (32-18, 11-16 ACC) in game one of their final regular season ACC series 7-2 Thursday evening.

Jayden Melendez and Noah Martinez were the only sources of Pitt's offense tonight, hitting back-to-back home runs in the top of the eighth inning.  For Noah Martinez, that is his second consecutive game with a home run. Dom Popa had his third multiple-hit game of the season, going 2-4 with two singles.

With his walk in the top of the second inning, Jack Anderson became Pitt's leader for most walks in a single season, walking for the 52nd time this season.  Breaking Steven Shelinski's 10-year-old mark of 51 walks in a single season.  Anderson has drawn 81 walks during his career as a Panther.

NC State's Noah Soles led the game off with a single to center on the very first pitch of the game.  However, Jack Sokol would induce a 6-4-3 double play in the very next at-bat to dissolve any possible damage in the top of the first.

Senior DH Jack Anderson walked to lead off the top of the second, his 52^nd walk of the year, breaking a Pitt single season record.  Kyle Hess reached on a fielder's choice ground out and would steal second to put a runner in scoring position with one out for the Panthers.  CJ Funk would go down swinging and Justin Acal would line out on a deep drive to left.

Following a walk and a single, the NC State offense was threatening in the bottom of the third inning. With two on and two out, Cannon Peebles drove a ball into the Wolfpack bullpen in right-center field to put NC State up 3-0.

The Panthers got more base runners on in the top of the fifth inning, as Justin Acal drew a one-out walk and Dom Popa placed a ball perfectly into the "Bermuda Triangle" in shallow left field.  With runners on first and second, Anthony LaSala popped out in foul territory to the first baseman and Sky Duff grounded into an inning-ending fielder's choice to end the threat.

The Wolfpack added a few more runs in the bottom half of the inning.  Jack Sokol hit the first batter he faced in the inning and CJ Funk misplayed a single to right field letting the ball go under his glove and roll all the way to the fence, allowing a run to score and Cannon Peebles to advance all the way to third.  Two batters later Eli Serrano III doubled down the right field line, scoring Peebles, and extending the lead to five.

NC State put two more runs on the board in the next inning on back-to-back two-out RBI doubles by Cozart and Peebles. They led 7-0 after six.

Pitt scored their first two runs of the game on back-to-back home runs by Noah Martinez (11) and Jayden Melendez (10) in the top of the eighth inning.  That is the 22^nd time this season the Panthers have hit multiple home runs in a game and the second time in their last five games where they have gone back-to-back in an inning.
Freshman Ryan Reed came out of the bullpen in the top of the ninth and worked a very quick 1-2-3 inning, throwing a total of nine pitches with a strikeout.

RHP Logan Evans is on the bump for the Panthers tomorrow, and he will be opposed by RHP Matt Willadsen from NC State. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.