Thursday, May 10
Atlanta, Ga.
5:00 PM EST
Pitt
32-17
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Virginia Tech
23-30
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Virginia Tech
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Photo by: Delvin Jones/Pitt Athletics
Taylor’s Walk-Off Grand Slam Propels Pitt Past Virginia Tech in ACC Quarterfinals
5/10/2018 9:44:00 PM | Softball
Panthers Battle Back from 4-0 Deficit to Win 6-4.
ATLANTA – Despite trailing 4-1 heading into its final chance at the plate, the University of Pittsburgh softball team [32-17] battled back to defeat Virginia Tech [23-30] 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 ACC Softball Championship Thursday evening at Mewborn Field in Atlanta, Ga., behind a walk-off grand slam by senior McKayla Taylor.
With the victory, the Panthers advance to the semifinals of the championship and will take on the winner of the No. 3 seed North Carolina and No. 6 seed Georgia Tech contest, Friday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m. The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets were originally slated to play at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 10 but the start time was pushed back due to inclement weather.
"It was an amazing effort by our girls to figure it out there at the end," said head coach Holly Aprile. "We were struggling and working to make our adjustments at the plate, while our pitchers were battling. We couldn't get things going early on, but were able to put together an amazing performance in the final inning."
Trailing 4-1 heading into the final frame, the Panthers found a spark in their final chance at the plate.
"The poise of our hitters was incredible," said Aprile. "Carrie Eberle pitched an amazing game. She was very tough to hit and kept the ball down in the zone. We truly had to battle for every hit once we made our adjustments."
Pitt opened the inning with back-to-back singles by junior Alexis Solak and sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger, before a one-out walk to junior Gabrielle Fredericks loaded the bases. The Panthers continued to battle, as senior Erin Hershman drew a full-count walk to push the second run across and cut the Hokies lead to 4-2. On the first pitch in the next at-bat, Taylor crushed a ball over the right field wall to give Pitt the walk-off victory.
"I don't even remember what happened on McKayla's [Taylor] hit," said Aprile. "I was just euphoric to tell you the truth. It was absolutely amazing."
Taylor's grand slam marks the third of her career and second of the season as she hit one earlier this year at UNC in a 10-2 win. The senior finished the day 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Defensively she had six assists.
In the circle, junior Sarah Dawson and senior Kayla Harris both saw time in the circle with Harris earning the win, her 16th of the season. Dawson was tabbed the starter in the contest, tossing the first 4.2 innings of play, before being relieved by Harris in the top of the fifth.
All of the Hokies runs came from home runs late in the game. Dawson held Virginia Tech scoreless through four innings of play, before giving up a solo shot in the fifth. Harris allowed a three-run long ball in the sixth, extending the Hokies lead, but gave Pitt a chance to come back after keeping them from scoring in the seventh.
Scoring Summary: Pitt 6, Virginia Tech 4
After four scoreless innings of play, the Hokies struck first with a leadoff solo home run by junior Caitlyn Nolan in the top of the fifth to put Virginia Tech out in front 1-0. Following the home run, Dawson was relieved by Harris three batters later.
The Hokies added to their total in the sixth, taking a 4-0 lead after a three-run long ball courtesy of sophomore Taylor Clark.
Pitt found the board in the bottom of the sixth after a throwing error by the Hokies allowed a run to cross the plate. After Hershman and Taylor opened the frame with consecutive singles to put runners on for the Panthers, Virginia Tech turned a double play but allowed Hershman to advance to third. A throwing error by the short stop on a ground ball hit by junior Olivia Gray gave Hershman a clear path to home.
Pitt's bats came alive in its final chance at the plate, as the Panthers plated five runs on three hits, ending the game with Taylor's walk-off grand slam. For the second straight inning, Pitt posted back-to-back singles to start the frame courtesy of Solak and Kruger. The Hokies tallied their first out of the inning on a fielder's choice by pinch hitter Marissa DeMatteo, getting the lead runner as Solak was out at third. Consecutive walks, the first to Fredericks to load the bases and the second to Hershman to push a run across, set up Taylor's walk-off blast over the right field wall.
Up Next
The Panthers advance to the semifinals of the championship and will take on the winner of the No. 3 seed North Carolina and No. 6 seed Georgia Tech contest, Friday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m.
The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets were originally slated to play at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 10 but the start time was pushed back due to inclement weather.
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With the victory, the Panthers advance to the semifinals of the championship and will take on the winner of the No. 3 seed North Carolina and No. 6 seed Georgia Tech contest, Friday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m. The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets were originally slated to play at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 10 but the start time was pushed back due to inclement weather.
"It was an amazing effort by our girls to figure it out there at the end," said head coach Holly Aprile. "We were struggling and working to make our adjustments at the plate, while our pitchers were battling. We couldn't get things going early on, but were able to put together an amazing performance in the final inning."
Trailing 4-1 heading into the final frame, the Panthers found a spark in their final chance at the plate.
"The poise of our hitters was incredible," said Aprile. "Carrie Eberle pitched an amazing game. She was very tough to hit and kept the ball down in the zone. We truly had to battle for every hit once we made our adjustments."
Pitt opened the inning with back-to-back singles by junior Alexis Solak and sophomore Kaitlyn Kruger, before a one-out walk to junior Gabrielle Fredericks loaded the bases. The Panthers continued to battle, as senior Erin Hershman drew a full-count walk to push the second run across and cut the Hokies lead to 4-2. On the first pitch in the next at-bat, Taylor crushed a ball over the right field wall to give Pitt the walk-off victory.
"I don't even remember what happened on McKayla's [Taylor] hit," said Aprile. "I was just euphoric to tell you the truth. It was absolutely amazing."
Taylor's grand slam marks the third of her career and second of the season as she hit one earlier this year at UNC in a 10-2 win. The senior finished the day 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Defensively she had six assists.
In the circle, junior Sarah Dawson and senior Kayla Harris both saw time in the circle with Harris earning the win, her 16th of the season. Dawson was tabbed the starter in the contest, tossing the first 4.2 innings of play, before being relieved by Harris in the top of the fifth.
All of the Hokies runs came from home runs late in the game. Dawson held Virginia Tech scoreless through four innings of play, before giving up a solo shot in the fifth. Harris allowed a three-run long ball in the sixth, extending the Hokies lead, but gave Pitt a chance to come back after keeping them from scoring in the seventh.
Scoring Summary: Pitt 6, Virginia Tech 4
After four scoreless innings of play, the Hokies struck first with a leadoff solo home run by junior Caitlyn Nolan in the top of the fifth to put Virginia Tech out in front 1-0. Following the home run, Dawson was relieved by Harris three batters later.
The Hokies added to their total in the sixth, taking a 4-0 lead after a three-run long ball courtesy of sophomore Taylor Clark.
Pitt found the board in the bottom of the sixth after a throwing error by the Hokies allowed a run to cross the plate. After Hershman and Taylor opened the frame with consecutive singles to put runners on for the Panthers, Virginia Tech turned a double play but allowed Hershman to advance to third. A throwing error by the short stop on a ground ball hit by junior Olivia Gray gave Hershman a clear path to home.
Pitt's bats came alive in its final chance at the plate, as the Panthers plated five runs on three hits, ending the game with Taylor's walk-off grand slam. For the second straight inning, Pitt posted back-to-back singles to start the frame courtesy of Solak and Kruger. The Hokies tallied their first out of the inning on a fielder's choice by pinch hitter Marissa DeMatteo, getting the lead runner as Solak was out at third. Consecutive walks, the first to Fredericks to load the bases and the second to Hershman to push a run across, set up Taylor's walk-off blast over the right field wall.
Up Next
The Panthers advance to the semifinals of the championship and will take on the winner of the No. 3 seed North Carolina and No. 6 seed Georgia Tech contest, Friday, May 11 at 3:30 p.m.
The Tar Heels and Yellow Jackets were originally slated to play at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 10 but the start time was pushed back due to inclement weather.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Harris, Kayla (16-2)
L: Eberle, C. (12-16)
Batting:
3B: Mehr, J. 1
HR: Nolan, C. 1 ; Clark, T. 1
RBI: Nolan, C. 1 ; Clark, T. 3
SH: Lattin, O. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Metz, W. 1 ; Nolan, C. 2 ; Clark, T. 1
SB: Mehr, J. 1
Batting:
HR: Taylor, McKayla 1
RBI: Taylor, McKayla 4 ; Hershman, Erin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor, McKayla 1 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1 ; DeMatteo, Marissa 1 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1 ; Hershman, Erin 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF/C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballHighlights | Pitt vs. Virginia Tech
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