Panthers Set for Seven Game Stretch in Florida

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team will play seven games over the next five days as the Panthers spend spring break in Florida, playing a double header at FIU and taking part in the FAU Parents' Weekend Tournament.

THE SCHEDULE

Pitt will begin competition in Miami, Fla., at FIU. The two teams are set to play a doubleheader Wednesday, March 7 beginning at 5 p.m. at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
The Panthers will then head an hour north to Boca Raton, Fla., for the Parents' Weekend Tournament hosted by FAU at FAU Softball Stadium. Pitt will begin play Thursday, March 8 with contests versus Ball State (1 p.m.) and the host squad (6 p.m.).
Following an off day Friday, the Panthers will face their first ranked team of the season in No. 21/22 Michigan at 11:15 a.m. Saturday, March 10. Pitt will also face Rutgers at 1:30 p.m. for the second time this season.
The Panthers will close out the tournament Sunday, March 11 with a single contest against Stony Brook at 9 a.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Live Stats and video ($) will be available for the FIU doubleheader.
All games at the Parents' Weekend Tournament will be available via live stats, while just Pitt's game against FAU will be streamed live.
Fans can follow @Pitt_SB on Twitter for live in-game updates.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers opened conference play at NC State last weekend, earning their first series win, 2-1.
Pitt dropped a pitchers' duel in the opening game of the series, after falling to the Wolfpack 7-0. Pitt played well throughout the first four innings of the game, as junior starting pitcher Sarah Dawson and the defense held NC State to just three hits. It wasn't until the fifth inning that NC State put runs on the board, tallying the first of four on an RBI-single by Jade Caraway. A three-run homer curtesy of Timberlyn Shurbutt made it 4-0 at the end of frame. The Wolfpack extended their lead in the sixth to 7-0 on another long ball by Chandley Garner.
Behind an 11-hit performance, the Panthers earned their first conference win of the season. Six of Pitt's hits were for extra bases, including a three-run blast by senior McKayla Taylor. Taylor was perfect in the game, reaching base in all four appearances at the plate. She went 3-for-3 with a homer and double, and was hit by a pitch. Taylor also posted a team-leading four RBI. In the circle, senior Kayla Harris and sophomore Brittany Knight combined to hold NC State to just one run and three hits. Knight earned the win in the game despite Harris getting the start.
In the series finale, the Panthers found a 4-0 lead in the contest after back-to-back two-run innings in the fourth and fifth. What the Panthers thought was a comfortable advantage turned out to be the opposite as a four-run inning in the sixth by NC State allowed the Wolfpack to tie the score late in the contest. In the final inning of play, Pitt scored three clutch runs on two hits and held NC State to just one run to earn the victory. The Panthers finished the game with double-digit hits for the second straight game, tallying 10. The win was a complete team effort as seven different players recorded hits.

GOING YARD

With 1.24 home runs per game, the Panthers sit 11^th in the nation this week in the category. In the ACC the squad holds the top spot. Pitt has blasted 20 long balls in just 16 games.
Nine different players have hit a homer, including a team-leading six by senior Giorgiana Zeremenko, who ranks 23^rd in the nation in home runs and 24^th in the nation with 0.35 home runs per game. Zeremenko became the all-time leader in the category at the B1G/ACC Challenge, notching her 35^th home run. She was the leading home run hitter for Pitt the past two seasons including 2016 when she set the single-season record with 17. She now has 37 in her career.

TAYLOR AT THE PLATE

Senior McKayla Taylor found her groove at the plate and in the field during Pitt's series at NC State. She is hitting .289 on the season with 13 hits, six RBU and 10 runs scored.
Taylor recorded six hits in 11 at-bats to hit. 545 against the Wolfpack. The senior put up four RBI and scored twice. Two of Taylor's hits were for extra bases as he blasted a three-run homer and an RBI-double in game two. On the weekend, she finished with a .909 slugging percentage and a .583 on-base percentage. She was perfect in game two of the NC State series, reaching base in all four appearances at the plate. She went 3-for-3 with a homer and double, and was hit by a pitch. Taylor also posted a team-leading four RBI. She continued her dominance in game three, extending her reached base streak to seven straight appearances dating back to Saturday's contest after producing three singles in her first three at-bats. Defensively, Taylor finished the weekend at third perfectly with 13 assists and three putouts.
She is now just two RBI away from breaking Pitt's all-time career RBI record, which is held by Holly Stevens with 127.

FRESHMAN STANDOUT

After starting the season out in the bottom of the batting order, freshman Hunter Levesque worked her way into the top half of the order after picking up her game.
The freshman had reached base in nine straight games, dating back to Pitt's game versus Wisconsin on Feb. 17. The streak came to after only seeing one at-bat in the Panthers' final contest versus NC State.
Levesque is hitting .300 with 12 hits, including one home run. She has knocked in five runs and has scored six times.

SOLAK SHOWING OFF

Junior Alexis Solak has proved to be one of the Panthers most consistent hitters at the plate.
The junior boasts a .302 average and ranks second on the team in hits with 16, all of which have been singles.
From Feb. 10 to Feb. 24, Solak reached the base paths in 10-straight games.

DOMINANT DAWSON

Junior pitcher Sarah Dawson has been dominant in the circle for Pitt so far in 2018.
Dawson is currently 6-4 on the season. In a team-leading 47.1 innings pitched, she has struck out 29 batters and owns a 2.22 ERA.
In a win over Coastal Carolina, Dawson pitched a complete game and struck out a career-high seven batters.
At the B1G/ACC Challenge, the junior gave up just five earned runs in 13.1 innings pitched, while striking out 11 total batters. Four of those earned runs came in the opening game of the weekend, leaving Dawson almost perfect after that.
Against Illinois Feb. 18, Dawson started the game and pitched all but one frame in the five-inning game, as she and Brittany Knight combined to toss the team's first shutout victory, 9-0. Dawson struck out five on the day and walked just one batter against the Illini.

LOCAL LEADER

Local product Olivia Gray, who hails from Washington, Pa., just south of Pittsburgh and attended Trinity High School, has grown to become one of Pitt's top players.
The Panthers starting third baseman for the second consecutive year, Gray boasts a .287 career average with 91 hits and a .467 slugging percentage.
Gray hit .353 in the team's opening weekend boasting a team-leading six hits, including one triple and four runs scored.

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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Panthers Set for Seven Game Stretch in Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sarah Dawson

Olivia Gray

Kayla Harris

Brittany Knight

Hunter Levesque

Alexis Solak

McKayla Taylor

Giorgiana Zeremenko

Panthers Set for Seven Game Stretch in Florida

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sarah Dawson

Olivia Gray

Kayla Harris

Brittany Knight

Hunter Levesque

Alexis Solak

McKayla Taylor

Giorgiana Zeremenko

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