University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Villanova
Gasti, Bessolo Shut Out Villanova in Doubleheader Sweep
4/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 1, 2002
PITTSBURGH- Junior Nikki Gasti and senior Gina Bessolo each threw shutouts as Pittsburgh won its first two Big East games of the season with 1-0 and 2-0 victories over Villanova at Lind Field on Monday.
Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) and the Panthers needed nine innings in the first game to defeat the Wildcats, who came into Monday's action with just two previous losses in 18 games. Gasti (7-9) pitched all nine frames, allowing just six hits and no runs for her third shutout of the year. She walked just one Wildcat batter and struck our four while lowering her season earned run average to 2.98.
The Panthers broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the ninth inning on a single by junior Kelly Hulpa (Washington, Pa. Trinity) that scored Ana Velazquez (Santa Ana, Calif./Santa Ana C.C.) from third base. Velazquez was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a passed ball and to third on a groundout. She missed the second game with a bruised wrist from that at-bat. Villanova pitcher Theresa Hornick went the distance as well, pitching 8.2 innings and allowed just two Panther hits. She walked three batters while striking out 13 in the loss, her second in 10 decisions.
The Panthers' only other hit came from sophomore Beth Gill (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) in the bottom of the third inning with two outs but she was caught stealing to end that inning. The Wildcats loaded the bases in the top of the third inning but a double play ended the threat. The win in the first game ended a four-game losing streak for the Panthers.
In the second game, Pittsburgh struck quickly with two runs in the bottom of the second inning off of Shannon Williams. Catcher Heather Andrews (Zelienople, Pa./Riverview) singled to lead off the frame, marking the fourth consecutive game in which she has hit safely. With two outs, Gill singled to center field to move Andrews to second base. Sophomore Missy Smith (Clackamas, Ore./Clackamas) then doubled in Andrews with the game's first run while Gill moved to third. It was Smith's first run batted in for the season. That chased Williams in favor of Kari Singley, who lasted just two batters after walking Angela Blackmon (San Diego, Calif./Palomar C.C.) and going 3-0 on Clare McCann (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo). Hornick came back into the game and walked McCann, scoring Gill from third base.
Bessolo (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) (4-6) allowed just one hit, a single by Karen Niwinski in the fifth inning, for her second shutout of the season. In the first inning, she also recorded her 300th career strikeout, the first Panther to reach that milestone. For the game, Bessolo walked three Villanova hitters and struck out 10 to increase the Panthers' winning streak to two games.
Pittsburgh won both games without leading hitter Kate Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette), who was out with a knee injury. The Panthers are now 12-18 in 2002 with a 2-4 mark in Big East Conference play. The Panthers will host Youngstown State on Wednesday, April 3 with the first game scheduled for 2 p.m.
