Pitt
Robert Morris
Pittsburgh Softball Splits Doubleheader at Robert Morris
5/2/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 1, 2001
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh softball team visited crosstown-rival Robert Morris on May 1, and split a doubleheader with the Colonials, losing game one, 2-1, and winning game two, 11-2.
The Panthers lost a heartbreaker in game one of the afternoon. Robert Morris took a 1-0 lead in the third inning, a score that held until the seventh and final stanza. Junior first basemen Kate Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) rallied for Pittsburgh in the top of the seventh with a two-out home run to tie the game. But the Colonials came back to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the inning, on another two-out homer by Dana Knapp.
The Panthers were held to just two hits in the loss, while Robert Morris tallied 10. Sophomore Nikki Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) pitched a complete game for Pittsburgh and struck out four batters. Mitchell and freshman center fielder Beth Gill (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) had the only hits of the game for Pittsburgh.
Game two told a different story for the Panthers as they scored 11 runs on nine hits in the 11-2 victory. After Robert Morris took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, Pittsburgh jumped in front with three in the second and never looked back. Following an RBI double by Mitchell, senior third baseman Tiffany Barrett (Pittsburgh, Pa./West Allegheny) homered to center field. The Panthers added four runs in the third, sparked by the first of two home runs by senior right fielder Brittany Bell (Brooksville, Fla./Pasco-Hernando C.C.) for two RBI. Bell knocked her second home run of the game in the seventh inning, another two-run shot. Junior left fielder Amy Steich (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) also recorded two RBI in the inning on a double to left center field.
Bell led the Panthers at the plate, hitting 3-for-4, including a double and two home runs, with three runs scored and four RBI. Steich also had a strong outing as she went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, twos runs scored and three RBI. Junior pitcher Gina Bessolo (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) earned the win with seven innings pitched and six strikeouts.
The Panthers (13-36/5-11) conclude its 2001 schedule this weekend with Big East Conference doubleheaders at Villanova (May 5) and Rutgers (May 6).
