Championship Page | Transcripts | Bracket | Box Score

DURHAM, N.C. (theACC.com) – Pitt has now done more than make its first-ever appearance in an Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship. The Panthers own their first win.

No. 12 seed Pitt (28-25) pushed across the game’s first two runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning and made them stand for a 2-1 win over eighth-seeded Georgia Tech in Tuesday’s Pool A game at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Caleb Parry delivered the tie-breaking RBI with his single up the middle that plated Liam Sabino, who had opened the inning by being with a pitch. Chris Cappas followed with a triple to right-center – his second extra-base hit of the game – to make it 2-0.

Georgia Tech (31-26) got one run back in the bottom of the seventh when Kyle McCann led off with a double, advanced on a wild pitch and scored on Tristin English’s grounder to short. But RJ Freure came on in relief of starter Matt Pidich and preserved the win, striking out three batters and yielding just one hit in the final two innings.

Pitt’s next tournament action comes Wednesday night at 7, when it faces No. 1 overall seed North Carolina (37-17).

The Yellow Jackets are off until Friday, when they will meet UNC in the 3 p.m. game. The Pool A winner – Pitt or UNC – will face the Pool D winner in Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal game.

Tuesday’s game began as a classic pitchers’ duel between Pidich and Georgia Tech starter Xzavion Curry.
Curry (8-4) retired 18 of Pitt’s first 20 batters and did not allow a hit until Cappas lined a two-out double to left field in the top of the fifth.

But Pidich (6-2) was equally effective, keeping the game in a scoreless stalemate until his batters broke through in the top of the seventh. He checked out after seven innings having allowed just three hits while walking one batter and striking out eight.

Each team finished with just four hits. Curry took the loss after allowing three hits and striking out eight in seven innings. The save was the second of the season for the Panthers’ Freure, who made his team-leading 25th appearance of the season on the mound.