Pitt
Connecticut
Andrews Powers Pittsburgh to 4-3 Victory Over Connecticut
4/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 15, 2002
PITTSBURGH- Sophomore catcher Heather Andrews blasted a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and led Pittsburgh past Connecticut, 4-3, in a Big East matchup on Monday morning. The game was the second in a doubleheader and had been postponed after one inning on Sunday due to rain.
Andrews (Zelienople, Pa./Riverside) was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and her second homer of the year. She also drove in all four Panther runs to bring her season RBI total to 13. The win ended the Panthers' three-game losing streak and Andrews now has a career-high seven-game hitting streak.
In the top of the first inning played Sunday, the Huskies (8-25, 2-10 Big East) got a single from Mandy Schettini to lead things off and moved to second on a walk to Lisa Girolamo. An error by shortstop Angela Blackmon (San Diego, Calif./Palomar C.C.) enabled Schettini to score on the next play and the game was picked up Monday after one inning of play and the Huskies ahead, 1-0.
UConn promptly scored its second run in the top of the second when leadoff hitter Bethany Watrous reached on another error by Blackmon. With two outs and Watrous on second, Schettini singled to right field and made it a 2-0 game.
Pittsburgh (18-26, 4-8) got a run back in the bottom of the second on back-to-back hits by Beth Gill (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) and Andrews. Gill singled and Andrews got her first RBI of the game on a double off the left field fence. Andrews tied the game in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single, scoring Blackmon, who had singled and stole second to lead off the inning.
In the Pittsburgh sixth inning, Gill walked and stole her 15th base of the year before Andrews sent a pitch over the right field fence to make it a 4-2 game. UConn got doubles from Watrous and Jen Ward in the seventh, scoring a run, but pitcher Gina Bessolo (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) didn't allow another run and won her career-high-tying eighth game of the season. She went the distance, pitching seven innings and allowed just five hits and one earned run, striking out six Huskie batters.
The Panthers will travel to Cleveland, Ohio, to take on the Cleveland State Vikings tomorrow afternoon for a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m.
