PITTSBURGH (Interstat) — The Pittsburgh Panthers, facing a two-run deficit entering the bottom of the ninth inning, staged a dramatic two-out rally to defeat the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 4-3 on a walk-off sacrifice fly Sunday evening at Petersen Sports Complex, securing a crucial Atlantic Coast Conference series victory.

The game, a tightly contested pitcher’s duel for much of the afternoon that stretched into the afternoon, turned on a critical error in the final frame. Wake Forest closer Marcelo Harsch, who had been stellar in relief, committed a throwing error on Joey Baran’s leadoff grounder, allowing pinch-runner Zach Walsh to reach second base safely. After a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, Wake Forest turned to Zach Johnston out of the bullpen.

Johnston induced a sacrifice fly from AJ Nessler to cut the deficit to 3-2. Caden Dulin then delivered the final blow, lifting another sacrifice fly to center field that scored Baran and sent the Panthers spilling onto the field in celebration.

The comeback victory salvaged the series for Pittsburgh after Wake Forest had dominated the first two games by a combined score of 30-10. It improved the Panthers’ overall record to 21-9 and 4-5 in the ACC, while the 14th-ranked Demon Deacons fell to 23-10 and 8-4 in conference play.

For seven innings, the story was dominant starting pitching. Pittsburgh’s Drew Lafferty, named the top star for the Panthers, delivered a gritty performance, allowing two earned runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings while striking out four. He worked out of several jams, as Wake Forest stranded multiple runners.

His counterpart, Wake Forest’s Cam Bagwell, was even more effective through six innings. Bagwell took a no-hitter into the sixth before Derrick Tarpley Jr. broke it up with a solo home run to right field, Pittsburgh’s first hit of the game. Bagwell finished with one earned run allowed on that lone hit, striking out one.

Wake Forest built its lead with small ball and opportunistic hitting. Javar Williams scored the game’s first run in the fourth inning after a double, a groundout, and an RBI groundout from Luke Costello. They added another in the sixth on an RBI single from Kade Lewis and an unearned run in the seventh when JD Stein singled home Blake Schaaf, who had reached on an error.

Pittsburgh began chipping away in the seventh against the Wake Forest bullpen. After Rhys Bowie and Harsch struggled with command, Sebastian Pisacreta delivered a key RBI double to score Trey Fenderson, making it 3-2 and setting the stage for the ninth-inning heroics.

Eddie Smink earned the win for Pittsburgh with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief. Harsch was charged with the loss and a blown save.

The result defied pregame projections from Interstat, whose ELO system gave Wake Forest a 67.5% probability to win, though the final score was closer to its game simulator’s prediction of a one-run Pittsburgh victory.

Wake Forest returns home to face Coastal Carolina in a non-conference game Tuesday in Durham, North Carolina. Pittsburgh travels to face Youngstown State on Tuesday.