Pitt Softball Sweeps on Opening Day

Friday, February 12

Macon, Ga.

1:15 PM

Pitt

2-0

Central Michigan

0-1

Pitt

Central Michigan

Pitt Softball Sweeps on Opening Day

2/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Feb. 12, 2016

Game One Box | Game Two Box | Season Stats

MACON, Ga. – The University of Pittsburgh softball team opened the 2016 season with back-to-back wins, defeating St. Bonaventure 10-0 (five innings) and Central Michigan 2-0 on the first day of the Mercer Invitational at Sikes Field in Macon, Ga.

“Overall, two well played games against two solid opponents,” head coach Holly Aprile said. “On offense, Shelby [Pickett] really set the tone in the leadoff spot and we had some nice at bats from Erin [Hershman], Kait [Manuel] and Maggie [Sevilla] as well. Alexis [Solak] came up huge with the grand slam and did a very nice job at third.”

Solid hitting was the key to success for the Panthers [2-0], as the squad posted 15 hits including five homeruns to hit .319 on the day. Pitt scored 12 runs, four of which were scored on a grand slam by freshman Alexis Solak. 

Six Panthers are hitting above .300 following the first day of play including redshirt seniors Shelby Pickett and Maggie Sevilla, senior Jenna Modic, junior Kaitlin Manuel and sophomores Erin Hershman and McKayla Taylor.

Pickett led Pitt with three hits, two of which were home runs, while Modic and Manuel also earned their first homers of the season.

Defensively, freshman Sarah Dawson and sophomore Kayla Harris both pitched well, each earning their first wins of the season by way of shutout. Harris posted seven strikeouts against Central Michigan [0-1] while Dawson sat down four hitters from St. Bonaventure [0-1] in her debut with the Panthers. Both pitchers did not walk a single batter.

“I was very impressed by both of our pitchers today,” Aprile said. “Sarah [Dawson] was very effective keeping the ball low in the zone and Kayla [Harris] was ahead of every batter. Neither pitcher walked a batter and both commanded the zone well.”

Game One: Pitt 10, St. Bonaventure 0 [Five Innings]

• Pitt defeated St. Bonaventure 10-0 in five innings with Dawson getting the win.

• The Panthers had 11 hits in the game, including three home runs.

• In the top of the first inning Pickett crushed a ball over the right center wall for her first homer of the day to give Pitt a 1-0 lead.

• The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the first as Hershman hit a tough single to second, scoring Sevilla and Taylor who were on second and third thanks to back-to-back base hits. The Panthers led 3-0 at the end of the first inning.

• Following a scoreless second inning, Pitt earned its fourth run of the game in the bottom of the third thanks to Manuel’s home run.

• St. Bonaventure threated to score in the top of the fifth but left two runners on base.

• During the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Panthers posted six more runs. Following a walk by Sevilla and a single by Taylor, a Modic double brought around the lead runner to score and increased Pitt’s lead to 5-0. The Panthers continued to battle with a single by Manuel which scored Taylor and a walk by Hershman which loaded the bases. With one out Solak blasted a grand slam over the left center fence, which ended the game in five innings due to the run rule.

Game Two: Pitt 2, Central Michigan 0

• The Panthers earned its second win of the day after defeating Central Michigan 2-0.

• For the second consecutive game, Pickett belted a leadoff homer putting Pitt on the board early in the game, 1-0.

• Both the Panthers and Chippewas were scoreless in the second and third innings, with Pitt retiring Central Michigan in just three batters both innings.

• Modic gave the Panthers its final run with her second hit of the day, a home run over the center field wall.

• Neither team was able to score in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

UP NEXT

Pitt continues play on Saturday at 12:15 p.m. when they take on host Mercer. The Panthers will play its second game of the day at either 2:30 p.m. or 4:45 p.m. depending on their seed.

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