Melendez, Kendro Go Deep as Pitt Drops Series Finale

Sunday, April 7

Pittsburgh, PA

2 PM

Pitt

13-15, 3-12

Georgia Tech

19-11, 5-7

Georgia Tech

Pittsburgh

Melendez, Kendro Go Deep as Pitt Drops Series Finale

4/7/2024 6:01:00 PM | Baseball

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PITTSBURGH – Pitt dropped their series finale with Georgia Tech 7-4 on Sunday afternoon. Jake Kendro and Jayden Melendez each hit home runs while Luke Cantwell had his second-consecutive four-walk game.

Coming off of his first career walk-off hit yesterday, Jayden Melendez hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Melendez's nine home runs lead the team and put him 16^th in the ACC. Shortstop Jake Kendro went 1-4 with a solo shot off the scoreboard as he's now hit safely in the last six games. For the second-consecutive game Luke Cantwell drew four walks. Before grounding out to end the game, Cantwell had walked in six consecutive at-bats and had been walked in eight out of his last nine plate appearances. Dom Popa, Justin Fogel and Turner Grau also recorded a hit this afternoon.

Ryan Reed gave up three early runs in the first two innings but then settled in and dealt into the seventh inning. From the last out of the second inning until the first out of the seventh inning, Reed retired 14 batters in a row, the longest streak of his career. The left-hander sat down 14 of the last 16 batters that he faced. Phil Fox needed just five pitches in the bottom of the eighth to record his sixth-consecutive scoreless outing.

The Yellow Jackets drew first blood for the third straight game in this series, scoring one run on two hits in the top of the first inning. They tacked on two additional runs in the top of the second and led 3-0 after two innings.

Pitt starter, Ryan Reed, settled in after the first two innings, at one point retiring 14 batters in a row. Reed sat down 14 of the last 16 batters that he faced this afternoon.

The Panthers got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning on a solo blast off the scoreboard by Jake Kendro. Kendro's fifth home run of the year traveled 420 feet and was the second consecutive time this series that Pitt hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Tyler Bischke and Luke Cantwell led off the bottom of the eighth with a pair of walks and each advanced into scoring position on a passed ball in the next at-bat. For Cantwell, it was his sixth consecutive drawn walk and his eighth walk in his last nine plate appearances. Jayden Melendez cleared the bases and launched his team-leading ninth home run of the season, a three-run shot, to right center to cut into the Georgia Tech lead and make it a three-run ballgame. The Panthers trailed by three after eight and would ultimately fall 7-4.