CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – No. 2 seed North Carolina used a balanced offensive attack and six home runs to defeat No. 14 seed Pitt, 13-5, on Saturday in the semifinals of the 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship at Truist Field in Charlotte, North Carolina.
 
With the win, North Carolina advances to face No. 1 seed Georgia Tech in the ACC Baseball Championship title game on Sunday, May 24, at noon ET on ESPN2.
 
Both teams delivered offensively, each batting .429 (6-for-14) with two outs, but the Tar Heels capitalized more consistently in key situations. North Carolina went 5-for-14 with runners in scoring position, while Pitt finished 3-for-12.
 
North Carolina totaled 13 runs on 22 hits, with every player in the starting lineup recording at least one hit. Rom Kellis V led the way, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs and two runs scored. Jake Schaffner added a game-high four hits, finishing 4-for-6 with a double, triple and two runs scored. Erik Paulsen, Colin Hynek, Cooper Nicholson and Gavin Gallaher also homered for the Tar Heels. Nicholson drove in two runs, while Gallaher added two RBIs and scored twice.
 
Pitt continued the strong offensive form it showed throughout the championship, collecting hits from eight different players. Trey Fenderson paced the Panthers with a 3-for-5 performance and two RBIs, while AJ Nessler added a home run and an RBI.
 
After Pitt jumped in front with RBI singles from Fenderson and Carter Dierdorf in the top of the first inning, North Carolina responded immediately. Gallaher connected on a two-run homer before Nicholson added an RBI single to give the Tar Heels a 3-2 lead after one inning.
 
North Carolina extended the advantage in the second inning when Kellis V launched a two-run home run and Owen Hull delivered an RBI single to make it 6-2. Pitt answered in the third on Sebastian Pisacreta’s RBI double, trimming the deficit to three runs.
 
The Tar Heels added two more runs in the fifth on Paulsen’s solo home run and another RBI single from Hull before both offenses traded home runs in the sixth inning. Nessler opened the frame with a solo shot for Pitt, but North Carolina responded with a solo homer from Nicholson and a three-run blast from Kellis V to push the lead to 12-4.
 
Hynek added another solo home run in the eighth inning as the Tar Heels continued to add to their total. Pitt continued to battle late, highlighted by an RBI single from Fenderson in the ninth inning, but North Carolina maintained control to secure the semifinal victory.
 
On the mound, Walker McDuffie (7-2) earned the win in relief for North Carolina, allowing one run on two hits with three strikeouts over 2.2 innings after starter Ryan Lynch worked the first four innings.