Saturday, March 17
Chapel Hill, N.C.
1:00 PM EST
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14-11-1, 3-2
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North Carolina
12-14, 4-1
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North Carolina
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Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics
Panthers Hand UNC First ACC Loss in 6-3 Victory
3/17/2018 4:12:00 PM | Softball
Pitt Knots the Series 1-1
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of Pittsburgh softball team bounced back to defeat North Carolina in game two of the series and hand the Tar Heels their first ACC loss of the season with a 6-3 victory at Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C.
With the win, the Panthers improve to 14-11-1 on the season and 3-2 in conference play, while UNC falls to 12-14 overall and 4-1 in ACC action.
Every run was scored in the first three innings of play, before both teams held each other scoreless after the end of the third. Pitt put up one run in the opening inning on a bases-loaded, two-out walk, before two home runs, a three-run shot by senior Giorgiana Zeremenko and a solo shot by junior Gabrielle Fredericks, extended the Panthers' lead to 5-0 at the conclusion of the second. In the top of the third frame, Pitt tallied their final run on wild pitch.
UNC scored all three of its runs on a long ball by Taylor Wike in the third.
The Panthers finished the game with seven hits, with Zeremenko leading the way for the second straight day. The senior finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored. Junior Taylor Myers went 2-for-3, while reaching base in three of her four appearances. Myers picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded, two-out walk in the first.
In the circle, senior Kayla Harris went the distance. Harris held the Tar Heels scoreless despite the three-run shot in the third.
SCORING SUMMARY
In the opening inning of play, Pitt took a 1-0 lead thanks to a two-out, bases-loaded, full-count walk. Senior McKayla Taylor drew a leadoff walk to start the frame and advanced to third on a double down the left field line by Zeremenko. Following back-to-back outs by junior Olivia Gray and Fredericks, junior Alexis Solak walked to load the bases. With a full count, Myers took a high pitch for the Panthers' third free pass of the inning to score Taylor.
The long ball benefitted Pitt in the second inning as the Panthers led 5-0 after home runs from Zeremenko and Fredericks. Zeremenko, the all-time career home run leader, blasted her second multi-RBI shot of the weekend and ninth overall on the season to score freshman Hunter Levesque and senior Erin Hershman. Levesque earned a leadoff walk to reach base, while Hershman dropped a bunt single. The inning continued with two away as Fredericks posted her fourth long ball of the year.
Pitt added an insurance run in the top of the third as Myers scored on a wild pitch. The junior reached first on a single up the middle and advanced to second on a sac bunt by sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger. During the next at-bat, Myers stole third to move into scoring position, before taking home on a pitch over the head of the UNC catcher.
The Tar Heels cut the Panthers' lead in half, 6-3, in the bottom half of the third on a three-run shot by Taylor Wike, set up by a Megan Dray double and a Leah Murray single.
Neither team scored the remainder of the game as Pitt held on to win.
UP NEXT
Pitt will close out the series against UNC Sunday, March 18 at 1 p.m. at Anderson Stadium.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
With the win, the Panthers improve to 14-11-1 on the season and 3-2 in conference play, while UNC falls to 12-14 overall and 4-1 in ACC action.
Every run was scored in the first three innings of play, before both teams held each other scoreless after the end of the third. Pitt put up one run in the opening inning on a bases-loaded, two-out walk, before two home runs, a three-run shot by senior Giorgiana Zeremenko and a solo shot by junior Gabrielle Fredericks, extended the Panthers' lead to 5-0 at the conclusion of the second. In the top of the third frame, Pitt tallied their final run on wild pitch.
UNC scored all three of its runs on a long ball by Taylor Wike in the third.
The Panthers finished the game with seven hits, with Zeremenko leading the way for the second straight day. The senior finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and one run scored. Junior Taylor Myers went 2-for-3, while reaching base in three of her four appearances. Myers picked up an RBI on a bases-loaded, two-out walk in the first.
In the circle, senior Kayla Harris went the distance. Harris held the Tar Heels scoreless despite the three-run shot in the third.
SCORING SUMMARY
In the opening inning of play, Pitt took a 1-0 lead thanks to a two-out, bases-loaded, full-count walk. Senior McKayla Taylor drew a leadoff walk to start the frame and advanced to third on a double down the left field line by Zeremenko. Following back-to-back outs by junior Olivia Gray and Fredericks, junior Alexis Solak walked to load the bases. With a full count, Myers took a high pitch for the Panthers' third free pass of the inning to score Taylor.
The long ball benefitted Pitt in the second inning as the Panthers led 5-0 after home runs from Zeremenko and Fredericks. Zeremenko, the all-time career home run leader, blasted her second multi-RBI shot of the weekend and ninth overall on the season to score freshman Hunter Levesque and senior Erin Hershman. Levesque earned a leadoff walk to reach base, while Hershman dropped a bunt single. The inning continued with two away as Fredericks posted her fourth long ball of the year.
Pitt added an insurance run in the top of the third as Myers scored on a wild pitch. The junior reached first on a single up the middle and advanced to second on a sac bunt by sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger. During the next at-bat, Myers stole third to move into scoring position, before taking home on a pitch over the head of the UNC catcher.
The Tar Heels cut the Panthers' lead in half, 6-3, in the bottom half of the third on a three-run shot by Taylor Wike, set up by a Megan Dray double and a Leah Murray single.
Neither team scored the remainder of the game as Pitt held on to win.
UP NEXT
Pitt will close out the series against UNC Sunday, March 18 at 1 p.m. at Anderson Stadium.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harris, Kayla (4-1)
L: Daly,K (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Zeremenko, Giorgiana 1
HR: Zeremenko, Giorgiana 1 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1
RBI: Zeremenko, Giorgiana 3 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1 ; Myers, Taylor 1
SH: Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor, McKayla 1 ; Zeremenko, Giorgiana 1 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1 ; Myers, Taylor 1 ; Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Hershman, Erin 1
SB: Myers, Taylor 1
CS: Myers, Taylor 1
HBP: Fredericks, Gabrielle 1
Batting:
2B: Wike,T 1 ; Dray,M 1
HR: Wike,T 1
RBI: Wike,T 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Murray,L 1 ; Wike,T 1 ; West,B 1
SB: Murray,L 1
CS: DeBerry,D 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF/INF
/ Softball
OF/INF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ SoftballC/INF
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