University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Softball Finishes Third at Florida Atlantic Tournament
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 23, 1999
PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh softball team finished the weekend with a third-place finish in the Florida Atlantic Tournament. The Panthers faced the host Owls, Michigan State and Princeton and went 3-2 over the weekend, improving their overall record to 8-13.
The Panthers opened the tournament with a 4-2 victory over Princeton March 19, while dropping an 11-3 decision to Florida Atlantic later in the day.
Pittsburgh notched the first run of the game when freshman Rhianna Rogers (Camarillo, Calif./Rio Mesa) scored off a Katie Mitchell (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) single. Neither team managed a run through the next four innings before the Tigers scored two for a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Panthers rallied to seal their victory with three runs of their own.
Pittsburgh began the second day of the tournament with a 5-1 win over the Tigers, the Panthers' second of the weekend.
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when freshman Amy Steich (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville Area) scored off a an by a Tiger shortstop. They added another off redshirt freshman Jackie Haar's (Naples, Fla./Lely) sacrifice fly to right field to take a 2-0 lead at the end of one. The Panthers held Princeton to just one run through the remaining innings. Pittsburgh sealed their victory with three insurance runs in the fifth by capitalizing on two Tigers errors.
The Pittsburgh followed their victory with a close 9-7 loss to Michigan State in the final game of the day.
The game remained close through the first five innings, with Michigan State holding a 2-1 advantage. The Spartans, however, widened their lead to 7-1with five runs in the top of the sixth. Pittsburgh battled back with four runs of their own, including a Rogers homerun, to pull within 7-5 in the bottom of the sixth. The Spartans added two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Pittsburgh began a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh and added two more runs, but could not take the lead.
In the loss, Rogers finished with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with a homerun and two RBI.
The Panthers captured third-place in the tournament with their 1-0 win over Princeton March 21.
After four scoreless innings Pittsburgh set up the winning run. Haar singled and advanced to second off a sacrifice fly. Freshman Clare McCann (Wykoff, N.J./Ramapo) followed with a single to advance Haar to third base who then capitalized on a Tiger error at center field to cross the plate and secure the win.
Rogers, a freshman third baseman, earned Big East Rookie of the Week honors for her efforts in the tournament. She finished the weekend batting .470 with two homeruns and three RBI, while crossing the plate six times. Also performing well was Steich who was 4-for- 10 through the tournament with one double, one triple, four walks and six runs scored.
The Panthers' home contest versus Kent scheduled for March 23 has been canceled due to unplayable field conditions, but they will return to action March 25 in a double-header with Robert Morris at 2 p.m.
