University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
33-23
Florida State
39-16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| Florida State | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
Wagner Wills Panthers to ACC Semifinal
5/22/2026 11:31:00 PM | Baseball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Down to their final strike, the Pitt Panthers (33-23) willed their way to an ACC Semifinal berth with a dramatic win over No. 3 seed, and No. 11 ranked, Florida State (39-16) on Friday night.
Trailing by one run in the top of the ninth inning, Kai Wagner golfed a three-run home run to give the Panthers the lead. David Leslie, who continued to dominate out of the bullpen, delivered three more shutdown innings to earn the win and help advance Pitt to the ACC Semifinal.
Pitt will play in their third ACC Semifinal since 2018, and second under Coach Bell. The Panthers are now 10-7 during ACC postseason play.
Kai Wagner drove in four runs and hit two home runs, none bigger than his game-winner with two strikes, and two outs, in the top of the ninth inning.
Trey Fenderson continued his scorching hot streak during the ACC Baseball Championship, going 2-for-5 with a three-run home runs. Fenderson is now 7-for-15 with three home runs and 11 RBI in Charlotte this week. Seven of Pitt's eight runs came via the long ball, and all courtesy of Kai Wagner or Trey Fenderson. Carter Dierdorf went 1-for-3 with a walk to set the program record for base on balls in a single-season with 58 this year.
Eddie Smink delivered a gutsy performance for the Panthers tonight, making his first start on the mound this season. Smink struck out seven over four innings of one-run baseball. Not to be outdone by David Leslie, who tossed three no-hit innings in relief to close it out, after throwing over 100 pitches on Tuesday night. So far in the ACC Championship, Leslie has struck out 15 batters and allowed just two earned runs over 9.1 innings out of the bullpen.
The Panthers struck first for the third time this week as they plated four in the top of the first inning. AJ Nessler reached on an error and moved up a base into scoring position in the following at-bat. With Nessler at second, Caden Dulin laid down a bunt that he beat out for a single. An errant throw by the third baseman on the bunt allowed Nessler to score and Dulin to move up to second. Pitt had runners on first and second for Trey Fenderson after Kai Wagner worked a walk. Fenderson continued his hot streak in Charlotte by blasting a three-run home run to right to put the Panthers up 4-0.
Eddie Smink struck out the side in the bottom half of the inning, but Florida State got a run back. Pitt led 4-1 after one.
Smink continued to deal for the Panthers striking out seven batters in his four innings of work. He escaped a massive bases loaded jam in the fourth inning to keep it a 4-1 ballgame.
Kai Wagner added to the Panther lead with an opposite-field solo home run in the top of the fifth to make it a 5-1 ballgame.
Florida State came back and tied the game at five in the bottom half of the inning on a grand slam.
The Panthers escaped jams in the sixth and seventh innings to keep it a tie game going into the eighth. Both Joey Ciancimino and David Leslie were able to get out of innings with runners in scoring position.
The Seminoles took the lead on a two-out error in the bottom of the eighth inning and led 6-5 going into the last frame. The Panthers, however, would not go down without a fight.
AJ Nessler kept the train moving for the Panthers as he lined a single to right. With two outs, Lorenzo Carrier worked a walk to keep Pitt's hopes alive and bring Kai Wagner to the plate. Down his final strike, Wagner launched a, two-out, three-run home run to right center to give the Panthers the lead in the top of the ninth inning.
David Leslie stayed in and shut the door on the Seminoles with a quick one-two-three inning to advance to the semifinal round.
Pitt will face No. 2 seed, and No. 2 ranked, North Carolina Saturday afternoon in the ACC Semifinal. First pitch is slated for 3 PM.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Leslie, David (4-5)
L: Purcell, Brodie (3-2)
Batting:
2B: Ligenza, Mason 1
HR: Wagner, Kai 2 ; Fenderson, Trey 1
RBI: Wagner, Kai 4 ; Fenderson, Trey 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Wagner, Kai 3 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Dulin, Caden 1 ; Nessler, AJ 2 ; Fenderson, Trey 1
SB: Dierdorf, Carter 2
CS: Dulin, Caden 1
Batting:
2B: Barrett, Ben 1
HR: Barrett, Ben 1
RBI: DeLamielleure, Brody 1 ; Barrett, Ben 4
Base Running:
RUNS: DeLamielleure, Brody 1 ; Barrett, Ben 1 ; Dowd, Brayden 1 ; Stuetzer, John 2 ; Carns, Hunter 1
SB: Stuetzer, John 1
CS: McCulley, Carter 1
HBP: Stuetzer, John 1 ; Fraser, Gabe 1
