Saturday, May 12
Atlanta, Ga.
12:00 PM EST
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Photo by: Delvin Jones/Pitt Athletics
Pitt Drops Heartbreaker to No. 10/7 Florida State in ACC Championship Game
5/12/2018 5:51:00 PM | Softball
Walk-Off Home Run Propels Top-Seeded Seminoles Past Panthers, 5-4.
ATLANTA – The University of Pittsburgh softball team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 10/7 Florida State in the 2018 ACC Championship Game after the top-seeded Seminoles hit a walk-off home run to defeat the Panthers 5-4 Saturday afternoon at Mewborn Field in Atlanta, Ga.
"We played a great game today," said head coach Holly Aprile. "However, you don't always get to win even though you played a great game."
Leading 4-2 in the bottom half of the seventh inning, just one out away from taking the title, Pitt [33-18-1] gave up a three-run long ball to Florida State's [47-10] Anna Shelnutt to end the game in dramatic fashion and give the Seminoles their fifth-straight ACC Championship victory. The Panthers reached the Championship game after defeating Virginia Tech in similar fashion with a walk-off grand slam Thursday evening and advancing past North Carolina Friday.
"We experienced the highs and the lows in our first contest, when we stole the game from Virginia Tech," said Aprile. "We didn't play great in that game, meanwhile they played very well and had a great effort from their pitcher and we snuck in the back door. That said a lot about us and so does our response here today. We didn't get the win but I really felt like we battled and did what we could do."
Despite the outcome, senior Kayla Harris tossed a solid game for Pitt, holding Florida State scoreless through five innings of play before giving up any runs. The senior allowed 10 hits and five walks, including two crucial ones in the seventh, while striking out three.
"Kayla did a great job today," said Aprile. "Florida State is nationally ranked for a reason and when they get punched, they always fight back."
The Panthers big inning at the plate came in the sixth as four runs scored on three hits and a few Seminoles' miscues. Senior Giorgiana Zeremenko, junior Alexis Solak and freshman Hunter Levesque all earned hits in the inning, with Levesque coming up clutch with an RBI-single to right field to get the rally started. Freshman pinch runner Morgan Batesole scored the first run of the game on Levesque's hit, while Solak came across on fielder's choice by sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger, which featured a throwing error by the Seminoles. The final two runs, scored by Levesque and Kruger, came in after a passed ball and wild pitch.
Scoring Summary: Florida State 5, Pitt 4
After five solid scoreless innings of softball, a big sixth frame put the Panthers out in front 4-0. Zeremenko and Solak ripped back-to-back singles to get things started before advancing a base on a passed ball with one away. With runners in scoring position, Levesque hit a flair to short right field, which fell in and brought around Batesole. On the next play, Solak raced home as Kruger hit a fielder's choice to short, which was thrown over the head of the catcher attempting to get the lead runner at the plate. Kruger took second on the play, while Levesque went to third. The final two runs came from pitcher and catcher mishaps as Kylee Hanson tossed a wild pitch bringing in Levesque, while a passed ball scored Kruger.
The Seminoles answered in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring one run on an RBI-single by Jessie Warren. Pitt was able to hold Florida state to just the lone run after forcing a pop up to end the inning.
After a quick top of the seventh, the Seminoles battled in the final half inning to put runners on using a single and two walks with one away to load the bases. Florida State pushed one across on a fielder's choice, but the Panthers recorded the second out of the inning. Pitt came up one out short as it it took just one pitch for Shelnutt to knock the ball out of the park for the win.
2018 ACC All-Tournament Team
Four Panthers were named to the 2018 ACC All-Tournament Team after standout performances throughout Championship. All being selected for the first time were seniors Harris, Erin Hershman and McKayla Taylor, in addition to junior Sarah Dawson.
Up Next
With the conclusion of the ACC Tournament, Pitt awaits their postseason fate, which the team will find out Sunday, May 13. The 2018 NCAA Tournament Selection Show is slated to begin at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.
#H2P | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
"We played a great game today," said head coach Holly Aprile. "However, you don't always get to win even though you played a great game."
Leading 4-2 in the bottom half of the seventh inning, just one out away from taking the title, Pitt [33-18-1] gave up a three-run long ball to Florida State's [47-10] Anna Shelnutt to end the game in dramatic fashion and give the Seminoles their fifth-straight ACC Championship victory. The Panthers reached the Championship game after defeating Virginia Tech in similar fashion with a walk-off grand slam Thursday evening and advancing past North Carolina Friday.
"We experienced the highs and the lows in our first contest, when we stole the game from Virginia Tech," said Aprile. "We didn't play great in that game, meanwhile they played very well and had a great effort from their pitcher and we snuck in the back door. That said a lot about us and so does our response here today. We didn't get the win but I really felt like we battled and did what we could do."
Despite the outcome, senior Kayla Harris tossed a solid game for Pitt, holding Florida State scoreless through five innings of play before giving up any runs. The senior allowed 10 hits and five walks, including two crucial ones in the seventh, while striking out three.
"Kayla did a great job today," said Aprile. "Florida State is nationally ranked for a reason and when they get punched, they always fight back."
The Panthers big inning at the plate came in the sixth as four runs scored on three hits and a few Seminoles' miscues. Senior Giorgiana Zeremenko, junior Alexis Solak and freshman Hunter Levesque all earned hits in the inning, with Levesque coming up clutch with an RBI-single to right field to get the rally started. Freshman pinch runner Morgan Batesole scored the first run of the game on Levesque's hit, while Solak came across on fielder's choice by sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger, which featured a throwing error by the Seminoles. The final two runs, scored by Levesque and Kruger, came in after a passed ball and wild pitch.
Scoring Summary: Florida State 5, Pitt 4
After five solid scoreless innings of softball, a big sixth frame put the Panthers out in front 4-0. Zeremenko and Solak ripped back-to-back singles to get things started before advancing a base on a passed ball with one away. With runners in scoring position, Levesque hit a flair to short right field, which fell in and brought around Batesole. On the next play, Solak raced home as Kruger hit a fielder's choice to short, which was thrown over the head of the catcher attempting to get the lead runner at the plate. Kruger took second on the play, while Levesque went to third. The final two runs came from pitcher and catcher mishaps as Kylee Hanson tossed a wild pitch bringing in Levesque, while a passed ball scored Kruger.
The Seminoles answered in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring one run on an RBI-single by Jessie Warren. Pitt was able to hold Florida state to just the lone run after forcing a pop up to end the inning.
After a quick top of the seventh, the Seminoles battled in the final half inning to put runners on using a single and two walks with one away to load the bases. Florida State pushed one across on a fielder's choice, but the Panthers recorded the second out of the inning. Pitt came up one out short as it it took just one pitch for Shelnutt to knock the ball out of the park for the win.
2018 ACC All-Tournament Team
Four Panthers were named to the 2018 ACC All-Tournament Team after standout performances throughout Championship. All being selected for the first time were seniors Harris, Erin Hershman and McKayla Taylor, in addition to junior Sarah Dawson.
Up Next
With the conclusion of the ACC Tournament, Pitt awaits their postseason fate, which the team will find out Sunday, May 13. The 2018 NCAA Tournament Selection Show is slated to begin at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.
#H2P | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: King, M. (20-6)
L: Harris, Kayla (16-3)
Batting:
RBI: Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
SH: Solak, Alexis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Batesole, Morgan 1 ; Solak, Alexis 1 ; Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
SB: Myers, Taylor 1
HBP: Myers, Taylor 1
Batting:
HR: Shelnutt, A. 1
RBI: Warren, J. 1 ; Harrod, C. 1 ; Shelnutt, A. 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Sherrill, S. 1 ; Mason, E. 2 ; Harrod, C. 1 ; Shelnutt, A. 1
PO: Warren, J. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
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