Pitt Set for Ole Miss Classic

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team is set to compete in the Ole Miss Classic beginning Friday, March 1 in Oxford Miss.

THE SCHEDULE

Pitt will open the tournament with a contest against Nicholls State at 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST) before facing host-school Ole Miss at 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CST).
On day two of the Ole Miss Classic, the Panthers will again face the Colonels first, playing at 12 p.m. EST (11 a.m. CST), before clashing with the Rebels at 3 p.m. EST (2 p.m. CST).
The Panthers will close out the tournament on Sunday, facing Ole Miss for the third time at 12 p.m. EST (11 a.m. CST).

HOW TO FOLLOW

Live stats will be available for all games.
Fans can watch Friday and Saturday's games against Ole Miss on SEC Network+.
Fans can also follow @Pitt_SB on Twitter for live in-game updates.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers defeated Penn State, 2-0, Sunday, Feb. 24 in their final contest of the UCF Knights Classic, with redshirt sophomore Brittany Knight pitching a complete game shutout to lead Pitt to the win.
Pitt's victory over the Nittany Lions was its lone win on the weekend, with the team falling to Coastal Carolina and UCF two times apiece.

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 four 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.

ACC PRESEASON COACHES POLL

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 Feb. 8-10, 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.

HOT START FOR HORRELL

After only appearing in two contests for the Panthers during her freshman campaign in 2018, sophomore Brie Horrell has appeared in 10 games while making seven starts on the season.
She currently leads the team in batting average (.471) and RBIs (six) while tying for the team-lead in home runs (two) and tying for second on the squad in hits (eight).
Horrell closed out Pitt's season-opening weekend at the Cougar Classic (Feb. 8-10) with a team-best .571 batting average, collecting her first career home run while adding four hits, three RBIs, two runs and two walks.

DEMATTEO DOING IT ALL

Senior Marissa DeMatteo has been a strong presence on both sides of the ball for Pitt so far this season.
At the plate, DeMatteo currently ranks second on the team in both batting average (.364) and on-base percentage (.417), while tying for second place in hits (eight).
Defensively, the New Castle, Pa., native leads the team in assists with 21 while also adding 19 putouts and committing just one error on the year.

PAVLICK PUTTING UP NUMBERS

Freshman Katlyn Pavlick has had an impressive start to her Panther career offensively.
On the season, Pavlick ranks first on the team in total bases (16), hits (nine) and runs (eight) while tying for the top spot in home runs (two).
Pavlick hit a leadoff long ball in her first career at-bat for Pitt, going on the close out the Panthers season-opening weekend at the Cougar Classic (Feb. 8-10) 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).

LOOK OUT FOR LEVESQUE

Coming off a 2018 season in which she garnered ACC All-Freshman Team recognition, sophomore Hunter Levesque has continued to be a constant in Pitt's starting lineup this season.
The Troy, N.Y., native is one of just two Panther players to start all 14 games on the season, and is currently tied for second on the squad in total bases (14), hits (eight) and home runs (one).
Levesque ranked third on the team with a .357 batting average at the conclusion of the Panthers season-opening weekend at the Cougar Classic (Feb. 8-10), adding five hits, three RBIs, two runs and two walks.

SOLAK SENDING 'EM IN

Senior Alexis Solak currently ranks second on the team in RBIs with five on the season.
Solak collected all five of her RBIs in Pitt's season-opening weekend at the Cougar Classic Feb. 8-10. She recorded an RBI in four of five games, including a season-high two RBIs against Central Michigan.

THE SERIES – NICHOLLS STATE

Friday and Saturday's contests will mark the first meetings between the Panthers and the Colonels in program history.

SCOUTING THE COLONELS

Nicholls State is currently 8-8 on the season, most recently recording a 3-2 loss against Southern Alabama Sunday, Feb. 24.
The Colonels finished the 2018 season with a 40-15 overall record, including a 21-6 mark in Southland play.
Sophomores Emma Holland and Kelsey Miller lead the team offensively. Holland boasts a .354 batting average to go along with her team-high 17 hits and 10 runs. Miller follows right behind her with a batting average of .316.
In the circle, senior Megan Landry leads the team in ERA (2.37), wins (seven), strikeouts (58) and innings pitched (60.2).

THE SERIES – OLE MISS

The Panthers and Rebels have met just once in program history, with Ole Miss winning the lone matchup.
The meeting came Feb. 19, 2010, where the Rebels captured a 3-0 victory.

SCOUTING THE REBELS

Ole Miss owns an 8-6 record after its first two weeks of games, most recently dropping a contest to Texas, 7-0.
The Rebels closed out the 2018 slate with a 32-25 overall record while going 7-17 against SEC competition, advancing to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated Long Beach State twice while falling to No. 6 Arizona State two times.
Sophomore Jessica Puk leads the team at the plate with a .412 batting average to go along with 14 hits, including three home runs.
Junior Molly Jacobsen and sophomore Ava Tillman lead Ole Miss on the mound. Jacobsen boasts a team-best 1.27 ERA to go along with a 3-1 record. Tillman has a 1.84 ERA through seven appearances, earning a 3-2 record.

UP NEXT

Following the Ole Miss Classic, Pitt will head to Charlottesville, Va., to open ACC play with a three-game series against the Cavaliers starting Friday, March 8.

#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hannah Bach

Walker Barbee

Morgan Batesole

Sarah Dawson

Marissa DeMatteo

Abby Edwards

Gabrielle Fredericks

Olivia Gray

Alexee Haynes

Brie Horrell

Brittany Knight

Kaitlyn Kruger

Hunter Levesque

Connor McGaffic

Taylor Myers

Katlyn Pavlick

Taylor Rahach

Sarah Seamans

Alexis Solak

Nava Susi

Chandler Walter