Pitt
Cleveland St
Panthers Split Doubleheader at Cleveland State
4/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 19, 2002
CLEVELAND, Ohio- Senior Gina Bessolo (Lakewood, Calif./Lakewood) struck out 10 Cleveland State batters and allowed just one run as Pittsburgh won the first game of a doubleheader Thursday evening, 2-1, before falling, 4-3, in the nightcap.
Bessolo (9-9) earned her career-high ninth victory and lowered her season earned run average to 2.55 with the win. She also topped the 100-strikeout plateau for the second time in her career with her third double-digit effort of the season.
The Panthers got started right away in game one with a first-inning run. Leadoff hitter Clare McCann (Wyckoff, N.J./Ramapo) reached on an infield single and stole second base. With two outs, Kelly Hulpa (Washington, Pa./Trinity) singled into center field, plating McCann to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead.
Cleveland State tied it in the bottom of the third inning on a run-scoring single by pitcher Jessica Miller that scored Tiffany Stocker.
The game remained that way until the top of the seventh inning. After Beth Gill (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) reached on an error by Kortney Spidell, she stole her Big East Conference-leading 16th base of the season. She scored on a double by Tiffany White (Carlsbad, Calif./Palomar C.C.), who picked up her seventh RBI of the season on the play.
Bessolo struck out the side in the bottom of the seventh to get the win and pushed the Panthers to within two victories of tying their single-season mark set in 2000.
The second game started out in favor of the Vikings, who plated three runs off of starter Nikki Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels). All three runs were earned after Gasti allowed a leadoff walk and three hits in the inning.
The Panthers got one back in the top of the second inning after two outs were recorded. Casey Pickard (Newhall, Calif./William S. Hart) singled to right field and came all the way around to score on an error by Jackie Richards.
Cleveland State added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 4-1 game, but the Panthers staged a late-game comeback that just fell short.
In the seventh inning, Gill singled with one out and advanced to second when White reached on a fielder's choice. Amy Steich (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville) grounded into a fielder's choice, forcing White out at second and putting runners on the corners with two outs. McCann reached on another infield single, scoring Gill and moving Steich to second. Missy Smith (Clackamas, Ore./Clackamas) followed with a single of her own to score Steich but Angela Blackmon (San Diego, Calif./Palomar C.C.) fouled out to end the game.
Pittsburgh (19-27) will face Big East rival Virginia Tech on Sunday at Lind Field in Fairhaven Park for two games. The first one is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and seniors Bessolo, McCann and Steich will be honored along with Kate Mitchell (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) and Jodi McGartland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park).
