Softball Closes 2003 Season With Split Versus Providence
5/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Softball Closes 2003 Season With Split Versus Providence
5/3/2003
PITTSBURGH ? The Pittsburgh softball team set two school records with a 1-0, eight-inning victory over Providence in game one of a doubleheader at Trees Field on Saturday. The Panthers recorded their seventh Big East win of the season as well as their fourth straight shutout victory.
Pittsburgh dropped the second game of the doubleheader, 2-0, to finish the season with a 24-31 record, 7-13 in Big East games. Providence moved to 19-23 and 3-15 in the conference with two games still left to play.
The first game remained scoreless until the bottom of the eighth inning when sophomore Casey Pickard (Newhall, Calif./William S. Hart) roped her second double of the game down the left-field line that scored freshman Francesca DiMaria (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) with the game?s only run. DiMaria had drawn a one-out walk before scoring from first base on the play.
Senior pitcher Nikki Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) pitched a gem in her last collegiate game, earning her seventh shutout of the season with the complete-game victory. Gasti (15-16) allowed just five hits and one walk in eight innings and finished the game with four strikeouts.
The Panthers managed just two hits off of Providence starter Cori Van Dusen in the second game and fell to the Friars, 2-0. Providence tallied once in the third inning and once more in the fourth on a solo home run. Starting pitcher Janelle Pepe (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville), also taking the mound for the final time, allowed five hits and the two runs in seven innings of work, with one walk and two strikeouts.
The five other Pittsburgh seniors recognized on Senior Day were infielders Angela Blackmon (San Diego, Calif./Palomar C.C.), Kelly Hulpa (Washington, Pa./Trinity), and Ana Velazquez (Santa Ana, Calif./Santa Ana C.C.), catcher Tiffany White (Carlsbad, Calif./Palomar C.C.) and outfielder Natalie Phillips (Utica, N.Y./Mohawk Valley C.C.).
Including the four consecutive shutouts, Pittsburgh pitchers went 31 straight innings without allowing a run, the longest streak in Panthers history.