Friday, May 4
Pittsburgh, Pa.
3:00 PM EST
Pitt
30-17-1, 15-6
9
vs
8
Louisville
32-18, 10-11
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3
4
5
6
7
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H
E
Louisville
0
1
0
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0
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1
8
11
1
Pitt
0
4
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0
2
X
9
10
2
Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics
Pitt Clinches ACC Coastal Division with Win over Louisville
5/4/2018 6:49:00 PM | Softball
Panthers Down Louisville, 9-8, to Clinch Division Title.
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Coastal Division Championship after earning a 9-8 victory over Louisville Friday afternoon at Vartabedian Field.
The Panthers' [30-17-1, 15-6 ACC] win over the Cardinals [32-18, 10-11 ACC] was their 15th conference victory of the season, which ties North Carolina for the most wins in the Coastal Division. With the tiebreaker edge over the Tar Heels, and no remaining ACC games for UNC, the victory marks Pitt's first ACC Division Championship in program history.
The squad had to earn its crown, as they battled back and forth in the first of three games against Louisville. The Cardinals jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning before the Panthers took what looked to be a commanding 7-1 lead after three. Some power hitting from Louisville evened the score at seven apiece in the top of the sixth before Pitt added two more in the bottom of the frame for the eventual win.
Junior Sarah Dawson and senior Kayla Harris both saw time on the mound in the victory. Dawson logged six innings of action while making two appearances in the game, giving up eight hits and five runs (four earned) while striking out three and earning a save after re-entering the game in the seventh. Harris entered the game in the sixth inning, where she earned the win, being the pitcher on record when her squad took the lead. She allowed three runs through one inning before Dawson replaced her to close out the game.
At the plate, three Panthers earned multi-hit efforts. Senior McKayla Taylor went 2-for-4 in the game while adding a home run and two RBIs. Freshman Hunter Levesque added a 2-for-3 showing to go along with one long ball, two runs and three RBIs while junior Gabrielle Fredericks went a perfect 2-for-2 while adding a walk, run and RBI.
Scoring Summary: Pitt 9, Louisville 8
An error by the Panthers in the top of the second allowed Louisville to strike first and take a 1-0 lead. With runners on first and third after a pair of hits and a sacrifice bunt, senior Giorgiana Zeremenko attempted to catch the runner stealing second but a bad throw went into the outfield allowing a Cardinal runner to take home.
Pitt's bats lit up in the bottom half of the frame, scoring four runs on four hits, including two long balls and a double. Following a leadoff home run by junior Alexis Solak, Levesque continued the inning with a single to left field and advanced to second on a groundout by junior Taylor Myers. A double off the right center wall by Fredericks sent in Levesque and gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Pitt's bats stayed hot in the bottom frame, as a long bomb to center by Taylor made it 4-1 heading into the third.
In the third inning, junior Olivia Gray earned a leadoff walk, followed by another walk by sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger. Levesque then crushed a ball over the left field wall, giving the Panthers a 7-1 lead after three.
The Cardinals answered back in the fourth inning, adding three in the frame. Following a leadoff single, a two-run long ball to right center made it 7-3. Louisville then added another run after a solo shot to left field, reducing Pitt's lead to just three after four innings of play.
In the sixth frame, the Cardinals continued to use the long ball to fight back into the game. Louisville used three solo shots in the inning to even the score at seven apiece heading into the bottom of the frame.
The Panthers would answer back in the bottom of the sixth. Following a Zeremenko walk, Gray roped a triple to right field, sending in Zeremenko and giving Pitt an 8-7 lead. In the following at-bat, Gray scored on a wild pitch to extend the Panthers' lead to 9-7.
Louisville would use yet another home run to make it 9-8 in the top of the seventh, but the Panthers would follow the solo shot with three consecutive outs to clinch the victory and their ACC Coastal Division Championship.
Up Next
Pitt and Louisville will play the second game of their series Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m., which will also be senior day for the team.
#H2P | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The Panthers' [30-17-1, 15-6 ACC] win over the Cardinals [32-18, 10-11 ACC] was their 15th conference victory of the season, which ties North Carolina for the most wins in the Coastal Division. With the tiebreaker edge over the Tar Heels, and no remaining ACC games for UNC, the victory marks Pitt's first ACC Division Championship in program history.
The squad had to earn its crown, as they battled back and forth in the first of three games against Louisville. The Cardinals jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning before the Panthers took what looked to be a commanding 7-1 lead after three. Some power hitting from Louisville evened the score at seven apiece in the top of the sixth before Pitt added two more in the bottom of the frame for the eventual win.
Junior Sarah Dawson and senior Kayla Harris both saw time on the mound in the victory. Dawson logged six innings of action while making two appearances in the game, giving up eight hits and five runs (four earned) while striking out three and earning a save after re-entering the game in the seventh. Harris entered the game in the sixth inning, where she earned the win, being the pitcher on record when her squad took the lead. She allowed three runs through one inning before Dawson replaced her to close out the game.
At the plate, three Panthers earned multi-hit efforts. Senior McKayla Taylor went 2-for-4 in the game while adding a home run and two RBIs. Freshman Hunter Levesque added a 2-for-3 showing to go along with one long ball, two runs and three RBIs while junior Gabrielle Fredericks went a perfect 2-for-2 while adding a walk, run and RBI.
Scoring Summary: Pitt 9, Louisville 8
An error by the Panthers in the top of the second allowed Louisville to strike first and take a 1-0 lead. With runners on first and third after a pair of hits and a sacrifice bunt, senior Giorgiana Zeremenko attempted to catch the runner stealing second but a bad throw went into the outfield allowing a Cardinal runner to take home.
Pitt's bats lit up in the bottom half of the frame, scoring four runs on four hits, including two long balls and a double. Following a leadoff home run by junior Alexis Solak, Levesque continued the inning with a single to left field and advanced to second on a groundout by junior Taylor Myers. A double off the right center wall by Fredericks sent in Levesque and gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead. Pitt's bats stayed hot in the bottom frame, as a long bomb to center by Taylor made it 4-1 heading into the third.
In the third inning, junior Olivia Gray earned a leadoff walk, followed by another walk by sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger. Levesque then crushed a ball over the left field wall, giving the Panthers a 7-1 lead after three.
The Cardinals answered back in the fourth inning, adding three in the frame. Following a leadoff single, a two-run long ball to right center made it 7-3. Louisville then added another run after a solo shot to left field, reducing Pitt's lead to just three after four innings of play.
In the sixth frame, the Cardinals continued to use the long ball to fight back into the game. Louisville used three solo shots in the inning to even the score at seven apiece heading into the bottom of the frame.
The Panthers would answer back in the bottom of the sixth. Following a Zeremenko walk, Gray roped a triple to right field, sending in Zeremenko and giving Pitt an 8-7 lead. In the following at-bat, Gray scored on a wild pitch to extend the Panthers' lead to 9-7.
Louisville would use yet another home run to make it 9-8 in the top of the seventh, but the Panthers would follow the solo shot with three consecutive outs to clinch the victory and their ACC Coastal Division Championship.
Up Next
Pitt and Louisville will play the second game of their series Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m., which will also be senior day for the team.
#H2P | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harris, Kayla (14-2)
L: Watson (14-9)
S: Dawson, Sarah (1)
Batting:
2B: Jordan, J. 1
HR: Melton 1 ; Jordan, J. 1 ; Ferguson 2 ; Cousineau 1 ; Szydlowski 1
RBI: Melton 1 ; Jordan, J. 1 ; Ferguson 3 ; Cousineau 1 ; Szydlowski 1
SH: Pufahl 1 ; Funke 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Melton 1 ; Jordan, J. 2 ; Pufahl 1 ; Ferguson 2 ; Cousineau 1 ; Szydlowski 1
SB: Funke 1
Batting:
2B: Fredericks, Gabrielle 1
3B: Gray, Olivia 1
HR: Myers, Taylor 1 ; Solak, Alexis 1 ; Levesque, Hunter 1
RBI: Myers, Taylor 2 ; Gray, Olivia 1 ; Solak, Alexis 1 ; Levesque, Hunter 3 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Myers, Taylor 1 ; Zeremenko, Giorgiana 1 ; Gray, Olivia 2 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1 ; Solak, Alexis 1 ; Levesque, Hunter 2 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1
SB: Gray, Olivia 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
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