Panthers Earn First ACC Win in Doubleheader Split Versus Eagles

Saturday, March 25

Pittsburgh, Pa.

12:00 PM

Pitt

15-13, 0-8

Boston College

17-11, 4-1

Boston College

Pitt

Panthers Earn First ACC Win in Doubleheader Split Versus Eagles

3/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Game 1: Box Score [PDF]Game 2: Box Score [PDF]

March 25, 2017

PITTSBURGH - The University of Pittsburgh softball team split Saturday's doubleheader with Boston College as the Panthers fell to the Eagles in game one 4-2, before emerging victorious in the second game by the same score.

Pitt is now 16-13 on the year and earned its first ACC victory this season, improving to 1-8 in conference play. The Eagles move to 17-12 overall and 4-2 in ACC action after today's doubleheader.

Freshman Brittany Knight and sophomore Sarah Dawson each tossed complete games for the Panthers, with Knight getting the ball in game one and Dawson in game two.

"I thought they both did a really good job," said head coach Holly Aprile. "What we ask of the pitchers is to have us in the game with a chance to win it, and they both did that. Keeping the score close and giving us a chance to battle."

Freshman catcher Valerie Ortega was the lone Panther to manage a base hit in each game, going 2-for-6. Pitt had three hits in game one and six in game two. Sophomore third baseman Olivia Gray hit a deep solo home run to center field in the second game, while junior outfielder Erin Hershman went 2-for-2 with an RBI in the same contest.

With 11 putouts in the first game, senior Kaitlin Manuel became the all-time leader in putouts in Pitt softball program history. The veteran first baseman's 1,397 putouts placed her above Casey Pickard, who had 1,385 from 2002-05.

Game One: Pitt 2, Boston College 4
The Eagles struck first in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader thanks to senior third baseman Tatiana Cortez, who laced a home run to right centerfield in the second inning. Boston College inflicted some more damage before the inning was over, as sophomore center fielder, Lexi DiEmmanuele had an RBI single.

The Eagles then loaded the bases with no outs. After Pitt forced an out at home, senior rightfielder Taylor Coroneos hit a groundball that drove in Boston College's third run of the second frame on a fielder's choice.

DiEmmanuele plated another run in the third inning to extend the Eagles lead to 4-0. She singled up the middle to score Cortez, who reached base after being hit by a pitch.

Pitt cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the third inning as freshman outfielder Hannah Edwards came up to bat with runners on first and second and one out after a pair of walks. Edwards lofted a triple over the right fielder, scoring freshman Alexee Haynes. Sophomore third baseman Olivia Gray was tagged out at home trying to score off Edwards' team-leading third triple of the season.

Haynes led off the fifth inning with a double down the right field line. With one out, Edwards bunted and sped down the baseline, forcing the Eagles third baseman to rush into a throwing error. Haynes scored on the error to cut the Eagles lead to 4-2.

The Panthers were unable to muster up any more runs in the sixth and seventh innings, as Eagles junior pitcher Jessica Dreswick retired the side consecutive innings in relief.

Knight went seven innings for Pitt, allowing six hits and four runs. The Windham, Ohio, native allowed four walks and struck out one.

Game Two: Pitt 4, Boston College 2
Hershman put the Panthers on top early, 1-0, in the second inning. She fired a bases loaded, two-out single through the infield, scoring Manuel who reached base after being hit by a pitch.

In the following frame, Gray smacked her third home run of the season to deep center field to extend the Panthers lead to 2-0.

In the fourth inning, Boston College knotted up the score. Cortez reached on a single before junior shortstop Chloe Sharabba hit a home run to left center to tie the game, 2-2.

The Panthers regained the lead in the fifth inning after a wild sequence. Junior shortstop McKayla Taylor and Hershman hit back-to-back singles to begin the inning. Gray popped up to short, which was caught but dropped on the transfer to throw. This created a sense of confusion that ultimately culminated in Hershman being tagged out in a run down and Taylor advancing to third base.

The following at-bat, with Edwards at the plate, a passed ball evaded Eagles junior catcher Jordan Chimento, scoring Taylor and putting Pitt back in front 3-2 after five innings.

Pitt scored its final run in the sixth inning as Ortego hit a hard infield single to begin the frame. After Solak popped out on a bunt, Manuel hit a ball to left field that made its way past the outfielder. Sophomore pinch runner Marissa DeMatteo scored on the play.

The pair of late inning runs were all the Panthers needed to take game two of the doubleheader against the Eagles.

Dawson had an effective outing in her first start of the season. The Bridgewater, Mass., native picked up her first win on the year, scattering eight hits across seven innings. Dawson let up two runs and struck out a pair of batters.

UP NEXT
Pitt will host rival Penn State for a mid-week contest on Wednesday, Mar. 29 with a 5 p.m. scheduled start time. The Panthers will then travel to Florida State March 31-April 2 for a three-game series against the Seminoles.

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