Friday, February 15
Raleigh, NC
10 AM
Pitt
vs
Wisconsin
Pitt Set to Compete in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
2/14/2019 2:00:00 PM | Softball
Panthers to Face Both Nebraska and Wisconsin Twice
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team is set to compete in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge starting Friday, Feb. 15 in Raleigh, N.C.
THE SCHEDULE
HOW TO FOLLOW
TOURNAMENT TICKETS
LAST TIME OUT
2018 SEASON IN REVIEW
FACING A STRONG SCHEDULE
A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP
INTRODUCING THE STAFF
RUNNING IT BACK
NEW IN TOWN
FRESH FACES
GRAY GOT GAME
SOLAK SENDING 'EM IN
HOT START FOR HORRELL
LOOK OUT FOR LEVESQUE
PAVLICK PUTTING UP NUMBERS
THE SERIES – NEBRASKA
SCOUTING THE CORNHUSKERS
THE SERIES – WISCONSIN
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
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THE SCHEDULE
- Pitt will open up the tournament on Friday with two contests, facing Wisconsin at 10 a.m. before clashing with Nebraska at 5:30 p.m.
- On Saturday, the Panthers will face Wisconsin for the second time, playing a 12 p.m. contest against the Badgers.
- Pitt will close out the tournament on Sunday, facing Nebraska at 10 a.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- Live stats will be available for all games.
- Fans can also follow @Pitt_SB on Twitter for live in-game updates.
TOURNAMENT TICKETS
- Fans planning on attending the tournament can purchase tickets online or on-site.
- Single game/day tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for youth.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Panthers fell to Wichita State, 7-2, Sunday, Feb. 10 in their last contest of the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C.
- Pitt finished the Cougar Classic with a 1-4 mark, collecting a 4-2 win in its previous matchup with the Shockers, while falling to Central Michigan, College of Charleston and Purdue earlier in the tournament.
2018 SEASON IN REVIEW
- The Panthers finished the 2018 season with a 33-18-1 overall record, including a 16-6 mark in conference play.
- Pitt won seven of its eight ACC series on the year, with both its 16 conference wins and seven series wins marking a program high since the team joined the league in 2014.
- The Panthers' strong play in conference led to their first ACC Coastal Division Championship in program history.
- Pitt earned the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament, taking down Virginia Tech and North Carolina before falling to eventual National Champion Florida State in the championship game by a score of 5-4.
FACING A STRONG SCHEDULE
- The Panthers face a tough schedule in the 2019 season, one that features two teams that finished in the top 25 of the NFCA Coaches Poll last year, including No. 6 Oregon, who advanced to the College World Series in last year's NCAA Tournament.
- Pitt also faces a total of nine NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.
- The Panthers' schedule currently features six teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the ESPN / USA Softball Preseason Poll, while six opponents also fit that criteria in the USA Today / NFCA Preseason Poll.
A CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP
- Head coach Jodi Hermanek is in her first season at the helm of the Pitt softball program.
- Hermanek joined the Panthers after spending the previous 10 years at Ohio University, where she led the Bobcats to two NCAA Tournament appearances, two MAC Tournament Championships and one MAC Regular Season Championship.
- In 14 seasons as a head coach at both Ohio and Southern Utah, Hermanek compiled a 397-376-1 (.514) record while advancing to the NCAA Tournament four times.
INTRODUCING THE STAFF
- Joining Hermanek on the coaching staff are assistant coaches Jillian Van Wagnen and Brock Van Faussien, as well as volunteer assistant Maddy Grimm.
- Van Wagnen spent four years as a player under Hermanek at Ohio before joining the Bobcats' coaching staff in 2014.
- Van Faussien has spent time in both baseball and softball, and most recently worked with a University of Georgia team that advanced all the way to the 2018 NCAA Women's College World Series.
- Grimm spent a year as an assistant coach at Ashland University following a standout career at Kent State, where she still holds multiple program records.
RUNNING IT BACK
- The Panthers return 15 players from a season ago in seniors Sarah Dawson, Marissa DeMatteo, Gabrielle Fredericks, Olivia Gray, Taylor Myers, Taylor Rahach, Alexis Solak and Nava Susi, juniors Alexee Haynes, Kaitlyn Kruger and Connor McGaffic, redshirt sophomore Brittany Knight and sophomores Morgan Batesole, Brie Horrell and Hunter Levesque.
- Among the returnees are multiple key contributors to last year's success. Kruger earned NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Third Team recognition a season ago, while Gray received First Team All-ACC honors, Levesque was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and Dawson earned ACC All-Tournament Team accolades.
NEW IN TOWN
- Pitt added two transfers to the 2019 roster in junior Walker Barbee and sophomore Chandler Walter.
- Barbee joined the Panthers after spending the past two years at Elon University.
- Walter came to Pitt following a one-year stint at the University of Utah.
FRESH FACES
- The Panthers also welcomed four freshmen to the team in Hannah Bach, Abby Edwards, Katlyn Pavlick and Sarah Seamans.
- The ACC released its annual Preseason Coaches Poll Tuesday, Jan. 29, with the Panthers projected to finish fourth in the conference.
- Florida State, who is coming off a College World Series Championship, was picked first in the poll after receiving 121 total points and 11 first place votes. Notre Dame, who made an appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, placed second with 102 points. North Carolina came in third with 95 points, followed by Pitt with 88 points.
GRAY GOT GAME
- The conference also released its first-ever Preseason All-ACC Team, with senior Olivia Gray being selected as one of its 15 members.
- Gray is coming off a 2018 season in which she garnered All-ACC First Team recognition following a campaign that saw her record a .311 batting average to go along with 50 hits, 29 runs, 25 RBIs, eight doubles and four home runs.
- Gray finished the 2018 season with 173 assists, which ranks third in single-season program history. She also collected 10 assists in a matchup with UCF Feb. 12, 2017, which is the top single-game mark in program history.
- In Pitt's season-opening tournament at the Cougar Classic, Gray finished the weekend with a .333 batting average while ranking first on the team in doubles (four) and tying for the team-lead in hits (six). She also added four runs and three RBIs in the team's five contests.
SOLAK SENDING 'EM IN
- Senior Alexis Solak closed out the Cougar Classic with a team-high five RBIs on the weekend. She collected an RBI in four of five games, including a season-high two RBIs against Central Michigan.
- Solak finished the weekend with a .263 batting average while tying for third on the team with five hits.
HOT START FOR HORRELL
- After only appearing in two contests for the Panthers during her freshman campaign in 2018, sophomore Brie Horrell appeared in five games while starting three in Pitt's opening weekend at the Cougar Classic, providing a big boost to the Panther offense.
- Horrell closed out the weekend with a team-best .571 batting average, collecting her first career home run while adding four hits, three RBIs, two runs and two walks.
LOOK OUT FOR LEVESQUE
- Coming off a 2018 season in which she garnered ACC All-Freshman Team recognition, sophomore Hunter Levesque had a strong start to Pitt's season at the plate.
- Levesque ranked third on the team with a .357 batting average at the conclusion of the Cougar Classic, adding five hits, three RBIs, two runs and two walks.
PAVLICK PUTTING UP NUMBERS
- Freshman Katlyn Pavlick was very impressive at the plate in her first games for the Panthers.
- Pavlick hit a leadoff long ball in her first career at-bat for Pitt, going on the close out the Cougar Classic ranked first on the team in runs (five) and home runs (two), tied for first in hits (six) and second in both batting average (.429) and walks (three).
THE SERIES – NEBRASKA
- The Panthers and Huskers have met just three times in program history, with Pitt holding a 2-1 all-time series edge over Nebraska.
- The teams' most recent meeting came Feb. 18, 2017, where the Panthers earned a 6-2 victory over the Huskers.
- Pitt has won its past two contests against the Huskers.
SCOUTING THE CORNHUSKERS
- Nebraska is currently 3-2 on the season, most recently earning a 4-3 win against Omaha Sunday, Feb. 10.
- The Huskers finished the 2018 season with a 31-23 overall record, including a 9-13 mark in Big Ten play.
- Offensively, Nebraska's roster currently sports two batters hitting over .400 to start the season. Senior Bri Cassidy leads the squad with a .563 batting average to go along with a team-high nine hits and five doubles. Junior Bree Boruff is hitting .438 through five games, adding seven hits, three runs and two RBIs.
- Senior Regan Mergele and freshman Lindsey Walljasper currently own the best ERA's on the team. Mergele sits at 2.10 through four appearances, while Walljasper owns a 2.55 ERA to go along with a 1-0 record.
THE SERIES – WISCONSIN
- The Panthers and Badgers have played each other just two times in program history and are currently tied in their all-time series with one win apiece.
- Both contests came in the 2018 season, with Wisconsin taking a 5-1 win Feb. 16 before Pitt earned a 6-5 extra-innings victory Feb. 17.
SCOUTING THE BADGERS
- Wisconsin owns a 4-1 record after its first week of games, most recently recording an 8-0 victory against Lamar.
- The Badgers closed out the 2018 slate with a 29-23 overall record while going 11-9 against Big Ten competition, advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they split their matchups with Oregon State while falling to No. 12 Alabama.
- Wisconsin's lineup currently features three players hitting .500 or above in senior Kelly Welsh, junior Kayla Konwent and sophomore Taylor Johnson. Johnson leads the team with a .563 batting average, while both Konwent and Welsh are hitting .500 on the season.
- In the circle, two Badger pitchers currently own a sub-1.00 ERA. Caroline Hedgcock is yet to allow a run this year, going 1-0 in two appearances on the mound. Maddie Schwartz boasts a 0.88 ERA, making three appearances, including a shutout victory against Lamar.
- Following the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, Pitt will head to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the UCF Knight's Classic where they will face Coastal Carolina, Penn State and UCF from Feb. 22-24.
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