In the opener of the ACC Tournament, Pitt’s baseball players proved to their coach — and, especially, to Georgia Tech — that they aren’t ready to put away their uniforms.
After losing eight of the final nine games of the regular season, Pitt scored eight runs in the sixth inning Tuesday and went on to defeat seventh-seeded Georgia Tech, 12-6, at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
The 11th-seeded Panthers (28-26) will confront No. 2 Louisville at 11 a.m. Wednesday in their second Pool B game. A victory would launch Pitt into the semifinals Saturday. Pitt won two of three games against Louisville earlier this season.
Before entering the tournament, the Panthers were outscored, 101-38, in their previous nine games. Included in that slump were three losses in a row late last week to Georgia Tech by scores of 8-7, 19-3 and 13-7 at Pitt’s Charles L. Cost Field.
Coach Mike Bell credited his team’s “mental toughness and grit” for the shift in fortunes.
“They love to play the game for each other,” he said. “For some of these guys, this is the last opportunity to put on a uniform.”
After five innings, Pitt appeared on its way to another defeat. But back-to-back home runs by Ron Washington Jr. (his 14th) and Bryce Hulett (his ninth), eight singles and two walks shoved Georgia Tech (32-22) into a 10-6 deficit. Pitt (28-26) added two runs in the ninth.
Jeffrey Wehler and Tatem Levins, the first two batters in Pitt’s order, each contributed three hits. Sky Duff, Washington, Hulett and C.J. Funk had two hits each.
Second-team All-ACC pitcher Matt Gilbertson (9-3) was the winner after allowing nine hits and six runs (four earned) in the first five innings. Freshman Jonathan Bautista earned his first career save by working four scoreless innings.
“He showed a lot of toughness for a freshman,” Bell said.
Pitt opened the season by winning 26 of its first 44 games, including a 12-10 record in the ACC. That strong start showed Bell his team deserved its ACC Tournament berth.
“They earned the right to be here,” he said. “You’re not always going to come out on top. But they’re going to come out fighting and giving everything they’ve got.”
The @Pitt_BASE home run celebration is elite ???? pic.twitter.com/YJ9W30m18e
— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) May 24, 2022
Bell said the ACC presented another tough challenge this season.
“This league is as deep as it’s ever been,” said Bell, who was an assistant at Florida State for seven seasons before he was hired at Pitt in 2018. “It’s more talented than it’s ever been.”
The ACC has five schools ranked among the top 17 by Baseball America, led by No. 2 Virginia Tech, No. 5 Miami and Nov. 6 Louisville. Notre Dame and Virginia are ranked No. 14 and No. 17. Pitt was 7-8 against those five schools, including series victories against Louisville and Virginia.
