University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Dignon Garners Big East Player Of The Week
5/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 1, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I.--Junior third baseman Jessica Dignon garnered Pitt's first Big East Softball Player of the Week honors, after she led the Panthers to two conference doubleheader sweeps this past weekend. Senior pitcher Laura Belardinelli was also honored by league officials as she was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.
Dignon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) earned Pitt's first Big East Player of the Week honor this season, after she recorded Pitt's most productive batting stats for the Panthers in four conference games against both Villanova and Rutgers. Dignon drove in seven runs, recorded eight hits, scored six runs and tallied two doubles.
"Jess had an outstanding weekend," said Head Coach Michelle Phalen. "She hit the ball hard and made great defensive plays. She is such a competitor. I am proud of the way she battled in her at bats and came through with some clutch hits this weekend. She struggled a bit offensively earlier this season, but she kept working and we all enjoyed the results of that determination this weekend."
Dignon also blasted her first two home runs of the season, and posted a .667 batting average and a 1.333 slugging percentage in the two doubleheader matchups against Villanova and Rutgers.
She currently leads the squad with 12 doubles, which is one less than the single-season record held by three different Panthers. She also currently ranks fifth on the career record list in the same category with 28 doubles.
For the second consecutive week, Pitt earned a conference honor roll selection, as Belardinelli (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) posted two impressive wins from the mound, becoming the all-time wins record holder with 43 career victories as a pitcher.
"Laura had a great weekend," Phalen said. "I was proud of the way she performed. She threw two great games for us, the ball was moving and she worked ahead of batters with a good mix of her pitches. She also made some big time pitches to keep both Villanova and Rutgers from getting their offense on track. In addition to getting the two wins this weekend, she accomplished a great feat in surpassing Nikki (Gasti) for most career wins, which proves she has worked hard in her four years here. This was a great senior weekend for her and her teammates!"
Belardinelli pitched a one-hit shutout against Villanova to tie the school record for wins. The next day she returned and improved to 7-9 on the season with a 10-1 win over Rutgers in five innings. On the weekend, Belardinelli held her opponents to a .133 batting average, a 0.72 ERA and struck out seven batters in 9.2 innings of play.
For the first-ever time, Pitt swept its opponents with consecutive eight-run mercy rule victories. As a team the Panthers blasted seven home runs, including a pinch-hit grand slam and stretched their team stolen bases record to 103 steals on the season.
Pitt hits the road for two non-conference doubleheaders this week. First the Panthers travel to Kent State for a 2 p.m. start on Wednesday, May 2, and then make a trip to Robert Morris on Thursday, at 1 p.m.
