Pitt
St. Bonaventure
Hmiel Records Three Homeruns In Victory
3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 11, 2011
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.—Junior Kelly Hmiel hammered off three homeruns this afternoon, as the University of Pittsburgh softball team earned a 10-1 victory over St. Bonaventure in the second game of the Buccaneer Challenge, held at Betty Basler Field. The Panthers improved to 10-5 on the year, while the Bonnies slipped to 0-5.
Hmiel became the first Panther to nail three homeruns in a single contest. She is also the first to record a multi-homerun game since Holly Stevens recorded three long balls in a doubleheader against St. John’s last April. However, two were in the second game of that series and the first was in the opener.
Hmiel opened the game in the bottom of the first inning with her first homer as a Panther. She recorded three RBI with that hit as senior Reba Tutt and Stevens were in scoring position.
Later in the fifth, Hmiel blasted another homer to lead off the fifth. She would then get another at-bat in the sixth and send her third homerun of the game over the center field wall. With that hit she drove in senior Ashley Amistade.
As the game continued, Stevens became the third Panther to smack a homer this year when she sailed a long ball over the right center field wall to lead off the bottom of the third frame. A few batters later, junior Yvette Bravo went the distance with a bomb to left center.
Junior Niki Cognigni gave the Panthers a 7-1 lead in the fifth when she stole home. Cognigni went for the steal after classmate Jessica Rhodunda stole second, making it a successful double steal with runners on the corners.
Tutt also scored the first run of the sixth inning. After being walked, she stole second and third before running home on an error by the catcher.
Freshman Karlyn Jones (6-1) earned the win on the mound, allowing one run off just three hits in the contest. Jones would strikeout seven batters along the way.
St. Bonaventure tallied its run in the second inning when the leadoff homered through left center.
On the day, Pitt batted .485 and posted a combined score of 20-1 in the mercy-rule victories. Hmiel and Bravo were perfect at the plate, boasting 1.000 batting averages and 2.500 slugging percentages.
Action resumes Saturday morning when the Panthers face North Carolina A & T at 9:30 a.m.
Score by Innings R H E
St. Bonaventure 010 000 - 1 3 2
Pitt 302 023 - 10 9 1
