The Pitt baseball team extended its season on Wednesday afternoon in dramatic fashion. Senior first basemen Bryce Hulett laced a two-out single to score Jeffrey Wehler in the bottom of the ninth, as Pitt secured a 6-5 walk-off win over No. 6 Louisville in ACC Tournament pool play.
The win punches Pitt's ticket to the ACC Tournament semifinals set for Saturday. The Panthers finish pool play with a 2-0 record, after also defeating Georgia Tech on Monday. Pitt entered the tournament the 11th seed out of 12 teams, but will have a chance to contend for a conference title this weekend at Charlotte's Truist Field.
Pitt got the scoring going in the third inning. Wehler launched a towering two-run home run to left field off of Louisville starter Garret Schmeltz. The second basemen entered this game with two home runs on the season, but mashed a pair in the biggest game of the season to match his yearly total. The Youngstown State transfer finished the day 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs, and scored the game's winning run.
Louisville got the bats rolling eventually in the fourth. Pitt starter Billy Corcoran surrendered a solo shot to Dalton Rushing in the top of the fourth. Rushing homered again in the fifth, as did Ben Mentziner to give the Cardinals a 4-2 advantage.
Wehler's second big fly came in the fifth inning to get the run right back for the Panthers. This time the Pitt infielder crushed a ball to right field. The Cardinals tacked on another run in the fifth, and that lead held for a while.
Pitt started to get some Cinderella magic in the last three innings. Tatem Levins brought the Panthers within a run on his 16th home run of the season. The Panthers tied it in the eighth. Ron Washington Jr. started the rally on a catcher's interference. Hulett and CJ Funk singled to load the bases, and Brock Franks sacrifice fly tied it at 5-all.
Pitt reliever Baron Stuart worked around a one-out double in the top half of the ninth, to set the stage for the dramatic bottom of the inning. The Panthers had the ideal scenario of needing just one run with the top of the order coming to the plate, and Mike Bell's team capitalized. Wehler singled, Levins walked, and those two made it to second and third with two outs before Hulett's clutch base hit.
Pitt came into the postseason having lost eight of its last nine regular season games. At a time, Pitt had legitimate NCAA Tournament aspirations, but those seemed to all but vanish with that finish to the regular season. The ACC Tournament brought Pitt new life and so far the team has taken advantage of that opportunity. Pitt now owns a 29-26 overall record, but still has plenty of work to do this weekend.
Pitt will have a few day's to rest before the semifinals. The Panthers will either take on Miami or NC State, with the game set for Saturday at 5:00 p.m. The game will be televised by the ACC Network. Should the Panthers advance, the ACC Championship is slated for Sunday at noon on ESPN2.
