Pitt advances to quarterfinal round of ACC Baseball Championship
· Yahoo Sports
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The Pitt Panthers (32-23) have advanced to the quarterfinal round of the ACC Baseball Championship.
They will face the No. 3 seed Florida State Seminoles (38-16) on Friday at 3 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C. The Panthers secured their spot by defeating the No. 6-seeded Wake Forest, 7-4, in the second round on Wednesday night.
This upcoming quarterfinal match will mark the first postseason meeting between the two baseball programs. Pitt’s success against Wake Forest was attributed to their patience at the plate, drawing 11 walks and scoring three runs from either a passed ball or a wild pitch.
The Panthers are currently the only double-digit seed remaining in the ACC Tournament, having started the week with a two-0 record. Under coach Mike Bell, the team achieved its first 30-win season since 2013 and since joining the ACC.
Pitt has won at least one game in six of its seven ACC Baseball Championship appearances, holding a nine-seven record in ACC postseason play and advancing to the semifinal round twice since 2018. They have now won multiple games in the ACC Tournament three times.
The Pitt offense, known as “The Oakland Lumber Company,” leads the nation in base on balls with 388. They also rank sixth in on-base percentage at .437, ninth in slugging percentage at .545, tenth in scoring with 8.7 runs per game, tenth in home runs with 105 and thirteenth in runs scored with 476.
This season, multiple Pitt position players earned All-ACC honors for the first time since 2021.
Outfielder Lorenzo Carrier was named to the All-ACC First Team, while shortstop Caden Dulin received Second Team honors. Carrier is the third Panther in program history to hit 20 or more home runs in a single season. Carrier is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy and one of nine semifinalists for the Tony Gwynn Community Service Trophy.
Dulin is a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is presented to the nation’s most outstanding shortstop. During ACC play, Dulin maintained a .402 batting average, accumulating 49 hits, 24 RBI, 24 runs scored, seven home runs, seven doubles and 77 total bases. Pitt was one of only two teams nationally to record 350 or more walks and 100 or more home runs in the regular season.
The Panthers set an ACC Tournament record with 16 runs scored in their first-round game on Tuesday night. Their pitching staff also combined for 13 strikeouts against Louisville, marking their highest total in an ACC Tournament game. Florida State leads the overall series against Pitt 32-8, which began in 1983 with a 13-0 Seminoles victory. The last meeting on May 3, 2026, resulted in a six-four win for FSU, while Pitt’s last victory against Florida State was 9-7 on May 11, 2024.
Pitt will face the Florida State Seminoles in the quarterfinal round on Friday at 3 p.m.
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