Pitt
28-26, 0
Louisville
35-21, 0
Panthers Earn Gritty Win Over Louisville to Open ACC Tournament
5/21/2025 12:56:00 AM | Baseball
DURHAM, NC - Knotted at 11 in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, Luke Cantwell launched a two-run blast to right which lifted Pitt past Louisville, 13-11, in the first round of the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship.
Pitt delivered once again in the late innings to come out on top, this time doing so with their season on the line.
For the fifth time in six trips, the Panthers won a game at the ACC Tournament. They set a program record for most runs in an ACC Tournament game with 13 on Tuesday night.
Their previous mark of 12 runs came against Georgia Tech in 2022, the same year Pitt beat Louisville to advance to the semifinal round. The Panthers have won four of their last five games against the Cardinals, with their last two wins coming in the ACC Tournament.
Pitt walked a season-high 13 times on Tuesday. Over half of those free passes (seven) came around to score.
First baseman Luke Cantwell was Tuesday's hero as he sent a game-winning, two-run, homer over the right field wall in the top of the ninth inning to break the 11-11 tie. Despite holding leads of five and seven runs, the Panthers found themselves in a tie ballgame as they headed to the final frame. As he has all year, Jackson Cooke delivered in a pinch-hitting role. Cooke reached on a hit-by-pitch and was subsequently pinch-ran for by Keeton Burroughs. One at-bat later Cantwell delivered in arguably the biggest moment of his Pitt career.
Lorenzo Carrier drove in five runs for the second time this season, and just the third time in his career, on Tuesday evening. On his birthday, Carrier lined a two-run double in the first inning and blasted a three-run home run off the foul pole in the top of the eighth inning. His five RBIs were the most in an ACC Tournament game by a Panther in program history.
Jayden Meledez launched his seventh home run of the season in the top of the third inning. AJ Nessler had another productive day at the plate, reaching base four times on two hits and two walks while he drove in a run on a single in the second. Despite being held hitless in the first round, Caden Dulin walked three times and scored two runs.
Pitt needed just two pitchers in round one as their starter Ryan Reed gave them six solid innings. Ethan Firoved entered to start the seventh and earned his third win of the season. Firoved gave up five runs over his three innings but seven of the nine outs he recorded came via the strikeout.
The Panthers struck first with runs in each of the first five innings on Tuesday. They kicked off their first round with a three-run top of the first inning. Pitt loaded the bases with one out on a Caden Dulin eight-pitch walk, a Ryan Zuckerman single and an AJ Nessler walk. Sebastian Pisacreta worked Pitt's third walk of the inning which brought home Pitt's first run of the game. With the bases still loaded, Lorenzo Carrier lined a two-run double into the left center gap that scored Zuckerman and Nessler and gave Pitt a 3-0 lead in the first.
They added a pair of runs in the top of the second as David Pedanou scored on a wild pitch and AJ Nessler drove in Zuckerman on a single up the middle. Pitt led 5-1 after two.
Jayden Melendez blasted his seventh home run of the year off the bull in left field in the top of the third inning. Pitt worked three walks in the top of the fourth inning, and loaded the bases for the second time today. Melendez bounced one through the third baseman that scored Dulin from third. Trying to score from second, Pisacreta would be thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
David Pedanou manufactured a run in the top of the fifth. After working a walk, Pedanou stole second and third before dashing home for the second time this evening, this time on a passed ball. Pitt led 8-1.
The Cardinals added five runs over the fifth and sixth innings but the Panthers still led 8-6 through six.
Lorenzo Carrier gave the Panthers some insurance in the top of the eighth inning with a towering three-run blast off the foul pole in left. His third, fourth and fifth RBIs of the night gave Pitt a five-run lead. Louisville would not go quietly as they plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game at 11 apiece.
Jackson Cooke led off the top of the ninth with a pinch-hit hit-by-pitch. With Keeton Burroughs pinch-running for him, Luke Cantwell stepped up to the dish and delivered a two-run homer which lifted Pitt past Louisville in the opening round of the 2025 ACC Baseball Championship.
Up Next
Pitt will play the No. 7 seeded Duke Blue Devils at 5 PM on Wednesday evening on the ACC Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Firoved, Ethan (3-4)
L: Brennyn Cutts (3-1)
Batting:
2B: Carrier, Lorenzo 1
HR: Cantwell, Luke 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Melendez, Jayden 1
RBI: Cantwell, Luke 2 ; Nessler, AJ 1 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 5 ; Melendez, Jayden 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cantwell, Luke 1 ; Dulin, Caden 2 ; Zuckerman, Ryan 2 ; Nessler, AJ 2 ; Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Carrier, Lorenzo 1 ; Melendez, Jayden 1 ; Burroughs, Keeton 1 ; Pedanou, David 2
SB: Pedanou, David 2
HBP: Pisacreta, Sebastian 1 ; Cooke, Jackson 1
Batting:
2B: Jake Munroe 1 ; Eddie King Jr. 2 ; Tague Davis 1
HR: Eddie King Jr. 1
RBI: Lucas Moore 1 ; Eddie King Jr. 5 ; Garret Pike 2 ; Bayram Hot 2 ; Tagger Tyson 1
SH: Kamau Neighbors 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lucas Moore 2 ; Jake Munroe 2 ; Eddie King Jr. 1 ; Zion Rose 1 ; Tague Davis 2 ; Bayram Hot 1 ; Matt Klein 1 ; Tanner Shiver 1
SB: Tague Davis 1
HBP: Lucas Moore 1 ; Jake Munroe 1
