Down to his team’s final strike and behind 6-5, Pitt’s Kai Wagner hit a two-out three-run home run to stun Florida State baseball and knock the Seminoles out of the ACC Tournament with an 8-6 loss in the quarterfinals on Friday, May 22.
FSU battled back from a four-run deficit to take a 6-5 lead at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ben Barrett hit a fifth-inning grand slam to tie the game, 5-5, his first home run and RBI since March 2023. An error on Barrett’s eighth-inning at-bat allowed John Stuetzer to score the go-ahead run, and give FSU a 6-5 lead.
Brodie Purcell replaced Chris Knier in the top of the ninth inning, and after a pair of strikeouts, paired with a single and a walk, he looked to put Wagner away with a low fastball, but he golfed it over the right field fence to go ahead, 8-6, with what ended up being the winning swing.
The No. 3 seed Seminoles (38-17) went down in order in the ninth inning to end the game. FSU left 12 runners on base and committed four costly errors.
In the first inning, a Barrett error at first base allowed a leadoff base runner in AJ Nessler before a Cal Fisher wild throw on a sacrifice bunt attempt scored Nessler and allowed Caden Dulin to reach base safely. That was costly as Pitt’s Trey Fenderson hit a three-run home run off Wes Mendes to put the Panthers ahead 4-0 in the first.
Mendes pitched from behind for the rest of his outing, but he steadied the ship with five innings of work, during which he struck out eight Pitt batters and allowed one more run. FSU scratched a run across in the bottom of the first, a Brody DeLamielleure RBI single that extended his hit streak to 18 games.
FSU struck out 7 times in the first three innings, all swinging, and left the bases loaded in the fourth inning when Cal Fisher grounded out in a 3-2 count with 2 outs. Moments after the groundout, Wagner hit a solo home run to give Pitt a 5-1 lead.
In the fifth, Brayden Dowd, DeLamielleure, and Hunter Carns all reached base with one out. Barrett took the first pitch of his at-bat before a 376-foot grand slam to right field, which tied the game.
Chris Knier struck out five in relief of Mendes, keeping Pitt’s offense quiet and setting Barrett to score the go-ahead run. Brodie Purcell struck out a pair in the top of the ninth inning, but allowed a walk and a single that set up Wagner for his three-run blast, and second home run of the game.
FSU now awaits its seeding in the NCAA baseball tournament.
The NCAA selection show is set for Monday, May 25, at noon.
How to watch the NCAA Baseball Tournament Selection Show
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU baseball stunned by Pitt, 8-6; Seminoles out of ACC Tournament
Reporting by Liam Rooney, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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