University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Long Beach State
Two Solo Shots Lift Softball Past WKU
3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 1, 2008
LAS VEGAS, Nev.-- Pitt's softball team split the day, as it tallied three runs in the seventh for a 7-3 loss to Long Beach State in it's fourth game of the UNLV Eller Media Classic held at Eller Media Stadium. The Panthers stand at 7-5, while the 49ers improved to 11-7 on the year.
In the seventh, senior Kelly Stiles (Thurmont, Md./Catocin) doubled to the outfield for her second hit of the game. Her double moved sophomore Megan Livesey (Livingston, N.J./The Montclair Kimberly Academy) to third, who advanced to base with a single of her own. Freshman Mollie Illenberger (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) then pinch hit for freshman Ashley Amistade (Washington, Pa./Trinity), and singled over the second baseman's glove.
Long Beach's short stop then muffled a groundball from freshman Reba Tutt (Culpeper, Va./Highland), and senior Mary Hecker (Roseville, Calif./Roseville) followed with a hit just over the glove of the shortstop.
Livesey, Amistade and Stiles all scored in the inning.
In the third inning, Long Beach State recorded three runs after the 49ers' catcher tallied a triple to right field. A misjudged throw to third caused an error, resulting in the fourth run of the game for the 49ers.
Sophomore Kayla Zinger (Phoenix, Ariz./Sunnyslope) held off another run in the first with a looking third-out strikeout, as runners at second and third eyed home plate.
Entering the game in the fourth inning, freshman Alyssa O'Connell (Washington Township, N.J./Cherry Hill) allowed one run off a hit to right field.
Later in the fifth, the bases were loaded as junior Kaitlyn Schuster (Ellwood City, Pa./Lincoln) entered the game with zero outs on the board. Schuster would walk her first batter, before freshman Alicia Broudy (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) quickly reacted to a groundball. Broudy threw the ball home for the force out, but junior Samantha Card (Miami, Fla./Our Lady of Lourdes/Florida International) threw the ball back to first for the double play.
On the next at-bat, Schuster fielded a groundball and walked it to Broudy at first to prevent any further damage.
With bases loaded again in the sixth, Tutt caught a high fly ball in center field for the second out of the inning. On the next at-bat, a single got past third, lifting the 49ers to a 7-0 lead. Schuster then had runners at the corners when senior Jessica Dignon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) scooped up a groundball behind second and tag the plate for another force out.
Dignon tripled in fourth inning, but was left on base. In fact Pitt stranded seven total runners in the contest.
Zinger took the loss for the Panthers, allowing the first four runs off five hits.
Pitt's final game of the UNLV Eller Media Classic is against Hawai'i on Sunday at 9 a.m.
