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.
Seeded 12th in the tournament bracket, Pitt will join No. 1 North Carolina (41-12, 22-8) and No. 8 Wake Forest (36-19, 15-15) in Pool A. The Panthers will meet Wake Forest at 3 p.m. Wednesday and North Carolina at 3 p.m. Thursday at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
Pitt did not play Wake Forest during the regular season. The Panthers lost three games to North Carolina by a combined margin of five runs.
Each team in four pools will play one game against each of the other two opponents in its pool Tuesday through Friday. The four with the best records within their respective pools will advance to the semifinals Saturday, with the winners playing Sunday in the ACC Championship Game.
