Comeback Falls Short In Loss to Stony Brook

Sunday, March 11

Boca Raton, Fla.

9:00 AM EST

Pitt

13-10-1

Stony Brook

6-7

Stony Brook

Pitt

Comeback Falls Short In Loss to Stony Brook

3/11/2018 12:48:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Continue ACC Play Next Weekend

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Pittsburgh softball team fell short against Stony Brook, 7-5, Sunday afternoon in the team's final game of the Parents' Weekend Tournament at FAU Softball Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla.

The Panthers [13-10-1] trailed early in the game as an error plagued, six-run frame in the third put the Seawolves [6-7] out in front. They committed three errors in the inning and gave up four hits.

The Seawolves added one in the bottom of the fifth to lead 7-0, but Pitt chipped away at Stony Brook's lead scoring a single run in both the fifth and sixth.

In the final inning of play the Panthers held Stony Brook scoreless, then returned to the plate for the final time. Pitt pushed three runs across and had the winning run at the plate but was unable to complete the comeback.

Offensively, the Panthers recorded nine hits with eight different players earning at least one. Junior Olivia Gray was Pitt's lone player to go 2-for-4, while recording an RBI.

In the circle, junior Sarah Dawson earned the start and the loss to move to 8-6 on the season. She gave up just two earned runs, but was credited with six total. Dawson was relieved by junior Taylor Rahach in the middle of the Seawolves' big inning. She tossed 4.2 innings, giving up just one earned run and one hit, while striking out three in 18 batters faced.

SCORING SUMMARY
The Panthers fell behind in the third, 6-0, after an error plagued frame. The inning began with back-to-back throwing errors on bunts, allowing the first runner to score. A third bunt that dropped for a single, set up runners on the corners with no outs. On a first and third pickoff play, second baseman Alexis Solak dropped a throw from Panthers' catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko, allowing another run to advance home to make it 2-0 Stony Brook. The Seawolves continued their wrath with a triple to left and a single to right to extend their lead to 4-0. After tallying the first out, Dawson gave up another single, prompting a pitching change. Rahach entered and immediately got out number two on a ball to the right side, but back-to-back wild pitches brought in two more runs to make it 6-0.

Stony Brook added one to their total in the top of the fifth on an RBI-single down the left field line. The Seawolves led 7-0.

The Panthers found the board in the bottom of the fifth frame scoring a single run. Gray led off with a double to left center, setting up an RBI-single by Myers.

Pitt continued to chip away at its opponents lead, as Gray brought around Solak on an RBI-single. Solak reached base on a hit to right field with one away, and advanced to second on an error by the Seawolves. A fielder's choice allowed Solak to continue to third, while Gray brought her in on the next at-bat.
After holding Stony Brook scoreless in the top of the seventh, the Panthers looked to make a comeback in their final time at the plate. Sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger led off the inning with a single through the left side and advanced to second on a sac bunt by junior Marissa DeMatteo. Kruger came home on a double by senior McKayla Taylor. With two away, the Seawolves could have ended the game on a ground ball to short but an error allowed Solak to reach first and Taylor to advance to third. Freshman Hunter Levesque continued the inning with a single to right, bringing around Taylor. Following a pitching change, Pitt scored their final run on a single by junior Gabrielle Fredericks, as Gray grounded out to end the game.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will return to ACC play, as they return to the state of North Carolina for the third time this season. This time Pitt will take on the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C., in a three-game series March 16-18.

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