Pitt Sweeps Virginia Tech, Secures First ACC Series Victory of the Season

Sunday, May 4

Pittsburgh, PA

12 PM

Pitt

23-21, 8-15

Virginia Tech

27-20, 11-15

VIRGINIA TECH

PITTSBURGH

Pitt Sweeps Virginia Tech, Secures First ACC Series Victory of the Season

5/4/2025 10:36:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game One Box Score Game Two Box Score

PITTSBURGH – The Panthers notched their first ACC series victory of their 2025 campaign on Sunday afternoon as they swept a doubleheader against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Charles L Cost Field.

Pitt took game one to secure the series victory, 5-3, and fought through thirteen innings to claim a 14-13 victory.

In game one of the doubleheader, which was only seven innings due to the ACC's travel day rule, the Panthers found themselves trailing 2-0 after two-and-a-half innings. They were able to take advantage of timely hitting to take the lead and never looked back. They added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings and flashing the leather to neutralize the Hokies offense.

Ryan Reed pitched out of jams throughout the afternoon, allowing 3 runs in five innings of action to earn his fifth victory of the season. Caden Dulin (2-3, 2 RBI) and David Pedanou (2-3, 1 RBI) both notched multiple hits on the game and drove in key runs to help secure the Panther victory.

The Panther bats were hot in the series finale as they were able to plate 14 runs on 23 hits. Pitt's 23 hits were the most in a game in Charles L. Cost Field history. It was a team effort as ten Panther pitchers made their way to the mound to help earn the victory, with Noah Czajkowski notching his second career victory after entering in the top of the thirteenth.

Game One

After Virginia Tech scored a pair of runs in the top of the third, the Panthers responded with three in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead.

Pitt led off the third with three-straight singles from Kendro, Pedanou and Dulin. Dulin's single to right center drove in Kendro from second. Cantwell drove in Pedanou on an RBI fielder's choice that nabbed Dulin at second to tie the game at two. With Melendez at the plate, Cantwell swiped second to put himself in scoring position with two outs. Melendez put the Panthers in front on an RBI single through the left side that scored Cantwell from second. They led 3-2 after three.

The Panthers added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Julian Irizarry singled the other way through the left side and, like Cantwell in the inning prior, stole second base to put himself into scoring position. Pedanou drove him in on an RBI single to left. Pitt now led by two after four innings.

The Hokies got a run back in the top of the fifth, but the Panthers still led by one, 4-3 in the fifth.

Pitt got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with some small ball before closing it out in the seventh. Keeton Burroughs pinch-ran for Sebastian Pisacreta after he reached on an error. Burroughs moved into scoring position, advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt from Julian Irizarry. Cade Dulin lined his second RBI single of the day through the right side as Burroughs came around to score from second.

With a 5-3 lead, Ethan Firoved sat the Hokies down in order as he earned his eighth save of the season and clinched Pitt's first ACC series win of the year.

Game Two

The Panthers jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. David Pedanou led off the series finale with a walk and advanced to third on a hit-and-run with Caden Dulin who singled to center. Luke Cantwell would drive Pedanou in from third on a shallow fly ball to left. After Zuckerman doubled off the wall in left center, AJ Nessler came up with two runners in scoring position and blasted a three-run home run to right center.

Virginia Tech plated one run in each of the next two innings without registering a hit to cut the Panther lead in half. The Panthers quickly responded in the bottom of the third when a leadoff walk for Dulin was followed by a towering two-run homer for Cantwell which gave Pitt a 6-2 lead.

Across the next three half innings the Hokies and Panthers traded long balls, as Virginia Tech plated 2 runs in the top of the fourth inning off of a homer out to right. In the home half, Jake Kendro stepped to the plate with one out and deposited his first homer of the season over the left field fence to push the Panther lead back to 3, at 7-4. But in the top of the fifth, the Hokies led off with another homer to trim the lead to 7-5.

In the home half of the sixth, the Panthers were able to add another run as Cantwell's bat delivered once again. Kendro led the inning off with a single, and after an immaculately laid bunt by Caden Dulin nestled itself just inside the third base foul line, Cantwell came to the plate and ripped a single back up the middle, scoring Kendro and giving the Panthers a three-run lead once again.

The seventh inning saw the Hokies plate two runs in the top half, to trim the Pitt lead to 8-7 off of another home run. Pitt responded in the home half, adding an insurance run on three hits. AJ Nessler led off the inning with a single, followed by a Lorenzo Carrier fielder's choice that put one on with one out. Back-to-back singles from Jayden Melendez and Julian Irizarry plated Carrier and pushed the lead back to two. Pitt led 9-7 after seven.

Virginia Tech pushed two runs across in the top of the eighth to tie the game, but Daniel McAuliff stranded three runners with a key strikeout to end the threat and keep the game knotted at nine. While the Panthers were able to get runners at the corners with two outs in the home half of the inning, they were not able to reclaim the lead.

In the top of the ninth, the Hokies plated two runs to take an 11-9 lead, their first lead since the third inning of game one earlier in the afternoon.??

Facing their last three at-bats and trailing by two, the Panthers led off the bottom of the ninth with a Jayden Melendez single to right field. As he's done all season in a pinch-hitting role, Jackson Cooke delivered when the Panthers called his name. Cooke answered the bell with a game-tying no-doubt home run that soared over the left field wall. As a pinch-hitter this season, Cooke has five hits, three home runs and eight RBIs.

The Hokies and Panthers traded scoreless half-innings in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth innings. In extras, the Panthers had runners in scoring position with one out twice but were unable to take advantage both times.

In the thirteenth, the rain began to fall, and the Hokies plated two runs and claimed the lead, 13-11.

In his first plate appearance of game two, Sebastian Pisacreta led off the inning by reaching on an error. Keeton Burroughs would pinch-run for him, advancing to second on a wild pitch and to third on a Logan Duffy groundout. Pedanou roped an RBI single to left that scored Burroughs and cut the Hokie lead to just one. Pedanou swiped his 16th bag of the year and scored the tying run as Caden Dulin singled to right to knot the game at thirteen in the thirteenth. Zuckerman singled to center and the Panthers and runners at first and second for AJ Nessler.

Nessler shot an opposite-field RBI single to left that scored Dulin from second and capped off Pitt's sweep of Virginia Tech as the Panthers walked it off in thirteen innings.

Up Next

The Panthers conclude their nine-game homestand on Tuesday, May 6 when they host the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Backyard Brawl.

First pitch is currently scheduled for 6 PM, and the Panthers will honor their Most Valuable Professors on a Dollar Dog Deal night at Charles L Cost Field.