Pitt slams Miami to earn berth in ACC baseball tournament
Pitt’s baseball team (26-27, 10-20 ACC) won seven of its last nine regular-season games, including a 10-7 victory Saturday against Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., to nail down a berth in the ACC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
The Panthers won the game in grand, long-ball fashion, scoring nine of their runs on home runs.
Senior C.J. Funk hit the second grand slam of his career — and second this month — in the top of the eighth inning to increase a 6-4 lead to 10-4 and put the game out of reach.
Miami native Jayden Melendez hit a tie-breaking three-run homer in the top of the seventh for his team-leading 16th this season. Freshman Ryan Zuckerman broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning with a two-run shot.
Pitt leadoff hitter Dom Popa recorded a double, two singles and a walk in three at-bats.
The ACC Tournament opens Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at [email protected].
