Friday, February 9
Fullerton, Calif.
1:30 PM EST
Pitt
vs
Loyola Marymount
Panthers Head West to Begin 2018 Season
2/8/2018 5:34:00 PM | Softball
Pitt Set to Take on Four Different Opponents in Fullerton, Calif.
Game Notes | Tournament Central [Live Video ($) / Live Stats] | Purchase Tickets
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team opens the 2018 season this weekend, Feb. 9-11, as the squad heads west to Fullerton, Calif., to participate in the Titan Classic at Anderson Family Field.
THE SCHEDULE
HOW TO FOLLOW
A LOOK BACK AT 2017
10 YEARS AT THE HELM
PITT'S TOUGH SLATE
ROSTER REVIEW
AT THE PLATE
IN THE FIELD
IN THE CIRCLE
BEHIND THE PLATE
ACC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
UP NEXT
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PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team opens the 2018 season this weekend, Feb. 9-11, as the squad heads west to Fullerton, Calif., to participate in the Titan Classic at Anderson Family Field.
THE SCHEDULE
- The Panthers are set to play five games in their opening weekend against four different opponents.
- Pitt will open the 2018 season Friday, Feb. 9, taking on Loyola Marymount and Utah State. Start times are set for 1:30 p.m. EST and 4:00 p.m. EST, respectively.
- The tournament will continue Saturday, Feb. 10 with another pair of games on deck for the Panthers. The team will face Rutgers at 4 p.m. EST and Cal State Fullerton at 8:30 p.m. EST.
- Pitt will close out the tournament Sunday, Feb. 11 with a second matchup against LMU at 1 p.m. EST.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats will be available for all games.
- A live stream will be available via Flo Softball ($) for all games, however, Pitt's contest versus Cal State Fullerton, Saturday at 8:30 p.m. EST will be available on BigWest.TV for free.
- Fans can visit the Titan Classic Tournament hub for the complete schedule and links to both stats and video.
A LOOK BACK AT 2017
- Pitt finished the 2017 with a 24-23 overall record and a 7-17 mark in conference play.
- Despite a tough finish, the Panthers were ranked for the first time in program history in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll. Pitt was ranked for the first three weeks of season, reaching as high as No.19 in week two.
- Current senior pitcher Kayla Harris tossed Pitt's second perfect game in program history as the Panthers defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 5-0, Feb. 26, 2017.
10 YEARS AT THE HELM
- Head coach Holly Aprile will begin her 10th season at the helm of the Pitt softball program.
- Prior to taking over in 2009, Aprile spent five seasons with the Panthers as an assistant coach under Michelle Phalen, Pitt's first softball coach.
PITT'S TOUGH SLATE
- The Panthers are set to take on three teams that finished ranked in the top 25 of the NFCA Coaches Poll including reigning ACC Champion Florida State, who reached the Super Regionals, along with Michigan and Marshall.
- Pitt will also face a total of 10 NCAA Tournament teams from 2017.
- The Panthers will compete in 53 contests this season, 37 of which will be on the road.
- Pitt will play a total of 16 games at Vartabedian Field in the Petersen Sports Complex, four of which will be three-day conference series.
- With the addition of Duke as a Division I softball team, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) will split into the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions for the 2018 season.
- Joining the Panthers in the Coastal Division will be Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech.
- Making up the Atlantic Division will be Florida State, Boston College, Louisville, NC State, Notre Dame and Syracuse.
- The ACC will now feature 12 total teams, eight of which Pitt will face this season. In the squads' first year in the Coastal, the Panthers will face every opponent in the division. From the Atlantic Division, Pitt is set to square off with the Seminoles, Cardinals and Wolfpack.
ROSTER REVIEW
- Pitt returns all but one starter from a year ago, welcoming back a veteran team of five seniors, six juniors and five sophomores, while adding four newcomers.
- Freshmen Hunter Levesque, Brie Horrell and Morgan Batesole will begin their first year with the Panthers, with Levesque looking at a starting position in the outfield.
- Junior transfer Taylor Rahach will see immediate time in the circle after transferring from Coastal Carolina.
- Sophomore Valerie Ortega, who earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors in 2017, returns as an option for Pitt behind the plate.
- The Panthers will be moving into 2018 without one key member from 2017 that played a significant role over the past four years in Kaitlin Manuel.
- The former Panther and then senior earned NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team honors after playing a key part on both the field and the plate.
- As Pitt's starting first baseman, Manuel recorded a nearly perfect fielding percentage (.993) after tallying 401 putouts and 11 assists, while committing just three errors all season. The San Diego, Calif., native left the Panthers as the career leader in putouts (1,529), chances (1,569) and fielding percentage (.995).
- On offense, Manuel finished with a .273 average after recording 39 hits in 143 at-bats, including six doubles, one triple and two home runs. She rounded out the season with 25 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
AT THE PLATE
- Offensively, the Panthers will look to a core of power hitting players in seniors Giorgiana Zeremenko and McKayla Taylor, along with junior Olivia Gray.
- Zeremenko led the team in RBI (35), doubles (10), and home runs (11) just a year after hitting 17 long balls in 2016, a Panthers' single-season record. Her .604 slugging percentage sat ninth in the conference.
- Gray led Pitt at the plate with 42 hits and hit .290 on the year.
- Taylor finished with a .260 average and 39 hits.
IN THE FIELD
- The Panthers will see some consistency in the field, as junior Olivia Gray and senior McKayla Taylor lead the infield. Gray will remain at third this season, while Taylor begins her final year at shortstop.
- Pitt will see multiple players see playing time at second and first. Juniors Alexis Solak and Marissa DeMatteo will battle it out for the starting spot at second, while the Panthers will look to replace former Panther Kaitlin Manuel at first with sophomore Alexee Haynes and junior Gabrielle Fredericks.
- In the outfield, senior Erin Hershman will return to her position in centerfield, however Pitt could see multiple different players fill in on both sides, including, junior Taylor Myers, sophomore Connor McGaffic and freshman Hunter Levesque.
IN THE CIRCLE
- On the mound, Pitt will rely depth throughout the 2018 season. Four pitchers, including senior Kayla Harris, junior transfer Taylor Rahach, junior Sarah Dawson and sophomore Brittany Knight will be called upon.
- Harris appeared in 30 games last season, 22 of which she started. The senior tossed Pitt's second perfect game in program history as the Panthers defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 5-0, Feb. 26, 2017.
- Rahach, a right-handed pitcher who transferred from Coastal Carolina after two seasons, saw action in 42 games during her time with the Chanticleers, starting 27 of those on the mound. Following a freshman campaign in which she tossed 25.2 innings, Rahach became a staple in Coastal Carolina's pitching rotation, finishing with a 13-9 record and a 2.80 ERA. She struck out 119 batters and walked just 55.
- Dawson will look to step into a leadership role after appearing in 19 games last season, with 42.2 innings pitched.
- Knight, who came in firing as a freshman last year, returns for her second season after finishing with a 13-12 record in 25 appearances. She tossed 151.2 innings in 2017 while striking out 62 batters.
BEHIND THE PLATE
- The Panthers will have three options behind the plate, including returning ACC All-Freshman Team honoree Valerie Ortega.
- Ortega led the ACC after throwing out 19 baserunners in 2017. She also picked off four.
- Other options for Pitt will be senior Giorgiana Zeremenko, who also saw time at catcher last season, and junior Gabrielle Fredericks.
ACC PRESEASON COACHES POLL
- Pitt was predicted to finish ninth in the ACC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll as announced by the league office Tuesday, Feb. 6.
- No. 6/9 Florida State, who will look for their fourth-consecutive ACC title, is predicted to finish on top for the fourth-straight season. The Seminoles received 11 first-place votes and 121 points.
- North Carolina, who is receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll, came in at second with one first-place vote and 105 points.
- Also receiving votes is Notre Dame, who earned 97 points to round out the top three, while Louisville (90) and Boston College finish off the top five.
UP NEXT
- Pitt will participate in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, Feb. 16-18 at North Carolina's Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., which will serve as the host site.
- The Panthers will face Big Ten foes Wisconsin and Illinois, playing two games against each team. Both opponents received votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Coaches poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll.
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