Pitt
Miami
Panthers Clinch Spot in ACC Tournament with Series Finale Win at Miami
5/18/2024 7:51:00 PM | Baseball
Coral Gables, Fl. – The Panthers clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season with their 10-7 win on Saturday afternoon in Miami.
Nine of Pitt's ten runs today came via the long ball as the Panthers hit a two-run home run, a three-run home run and a grand slam to punch their ticket to Charlotte, NC for the ACC Tournament.
Senior C.J. Funk hit the second grand slam of his career and his second this month in the top of the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Miami native, Jayden Melendez, hit a tie-breaking three-run home run in the top of the seventh for his team-leading 16th big fly of the season. Dom Popa collected his third multi-hit game of the series as he went 3-3 with a double, a walk and two runs scored.
Freshman Ryan Zuckerman went 2-4 on Saturday and got the Panthers on the board first with his two-run shot in the top of the fourth inning. Luke Cantwell went 1-3 with an RBI single two runs scored and two walks. Cantwell's second walk of the day was his 56th of the year and set the Pitt record for most walks in a single season.
Ryan Reed gave the Panther a quality start with their season on the line. He threw 4.2 innings and allowed just three runs on five hits and kept the Panthers in it early. Matthew Fernandez relieved Reed in the middle of the fifth inning and earned his fourth win of the season. The Miami native struck out four over his 4.1 innings in relief.
Miami had the bases loaded in the first inning and had runner at the corners in the second. The Panthers escaped both jams with inning-ending double plays to keep the game scoreless through the first two frames.
Ryan Zuckerman broke the scoreless tie with a two-run shot off the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning. Pitt would add one more in the top of the fifth and extend their lead to three. Dom Popa led off the inning with a double down the right field line and would be driven in in the next at-bat by Luke Cantwell who singled to right center. The Panthers now led 3-0. Miami responded in the bottom half of the inning and knotted the game at three.
After a scoreless sixth inning, Miami native Jayden Melendez reclaimed the Panther lead with a three-run homer off the top of the scoreboard. Popa and Cantwell each led off the inning with walks and put two runners on for Melendez. Jayden launched a 3-1 pitch 385 feet to right and the Panthers led by three again.
The Hurricane's got one back in the bottom half of the inning but the Panthers still led 6-4.
In the top of the eighth inning, C.J. Funk would hit what proved to be a crucial grand slam to left center to put the Panthers up six. Sebastian Pisacreta walked, Jake Kendro was hit by a pitch and Luke Cantwell walked to load the bases for Funk who launched his second grand slam of the season to left center. The Panthers led 10-4 heading into the ninth.
Miami would end up scoring three in the ninth inning and cut the Panther lead in half but the Panthers would prevail and earn a berth in the 2024 ACC Tournament.
