Panthers Take Series Finale Over Wolfpack, 5-3

Sunday, March 23

Pittsburgh, PA

1 PM

Pitt

14-9, 2-4

NC State

17-7, 4-2

NC STATE

PITTSBURGH

Panthers Take Series Finale Over Wolfpack, 5-3

3/23/2025 7:06:00 PM | Baseball

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PITTSBURGH - Pitt (14-9, 2-4) beat NC State in their series in eight innings on Sunday afternoon, 5-3.

Due to league-mandated and predetermined travel time rules, no new inning was able to be started after 4 PM, resulting in the game ending in the eighth inning.

The Panthers broke the 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning with two runs on three hits resulting in their fifth comeback win this season when trailing in the fifth inning or later.

Matt Porter threw four scoreless innings in relief and earned his third win of the season, he is now 3-0. Out of the 17 batters Porter faced on Sunday, he allowed just four baserunners. Ethan Firoved worked an eight-pitch inning and earned his fifth save of the season in the finale.

Jayden Melendez (2-3, R, 2B), Caden Dulin (2-4, RBI) and David Pedanou (2-4, RBI, R) all had multiple hits this afternoon. AJ Nessler went 1-3 with two walks, a run scored and an RBI single. Jake Kendro went 1-3 with a double and run scored. Luke Cantwell had another hit on Sunday, he is now hitting .432.

Ryan Zuckerman drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and worked a walk, now reaching base in 27-straight games dating back to last season.

Luke Cantwell led off the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle. It was the 11th time this year that he has led off a game by reaching base, and third time he had reached on a hit. Jayden Melendez followed with a double down the leftfield line, moving Cantwell to third with no one out. AJ Nessler worked a walk and the Panthers had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the first. The Panthers left them loaded and the game remained scoreless through one.

NC State would score three in the top of the second inning as they jumped out to a three-run lead for the second-consecutive game.

Pitt got two runs back in the bottom half of the inning as they cut the lead to just one after two. Jake Kendro got Pitt's inning rolling with a double off the high wall in left center. On the very next pitch, David Pedanou drove in Kendro on an RBI single to left center and put the Panthers on the board. Pedanou would put on a baserunning masterclass as he manufactured Pitt's second of the game by stealing both second and third base before scoring on a wild pitch. The Panthers trailed 3-2.

Pitt tied it up in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI sac fly by Ryan Zuckerman. After Melendez lead off the inning with a single, he moved to second on a ground out and then to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Zuckerman lifted a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Melendez and knot the game at three after five.

Matt Porter entered in the fourth inning and fired four scoreless innings in relief.

The Panthers scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take their first lead of the ballgame. After replacing an injured Lorenzo Carrier in right field earlier in the game, Logan Duffy roped a leadoff double into the right centerfield gap. In the next at-bat, AJ Nessler pulled an RBI single through the left side to give Pitt a 4-3 lead. Zuckerman reached on an error and Nessler moved to third with no one out.. Caden Dulin added to the Panther lead with an RBI single to left field, driving in Nessler, and extending Pitt's lead to two. They led 5-3 heading into the final inning.

Ethan Firoved entered in the eighth inning and worked an eight-pitch, 1-2-3, inning to earn his fifth save of the season.

Up Next

The Panthers will travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions at 5:30 PM on Tuesday night, March 25.