Saturday, May 4
Pittsburgh, Pa.
4 PM
Pitt
12-41, 6-17
15
vs
12
Boston College
18-34, 4-19
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7
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Boston College
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6
1
0
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12
15
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Pitt
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7
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0
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4
15
11
2
Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics
Panthers Top Eagles on Senior Day with Walk-Off Grand Slam
5/4/2019 10:07:00 PM | Softball
Kruger’s Pinch-Hit Grand Slam Gives Pitt the 15-12 Victory over Boston College
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh softball team used a walk-off grand slam to capture a dramatic 15-12 victory over Boston College on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Vartabedian Field.
What was a rollercoaster of a day emotionally, with the Panthers recognizing eight seniors, became a rollercoaster of a game, with Pitt and Boston College battling back-and-forth before a grand slam by junior Kaitlyn Kruger capped off the contest.
"These seniors have meant so much to this program," said head coach Jodi Hermanek. "They play with so much pride for Pitt and their teammates. In an adverse season, you've just got to be proud of the leadership that they've given with a relentless attitude and perseverance. They've come out here and worked to be the best that they can be every single day. That's all you can ask as a coach.
"I'm just super proud of them for being as resilient as they have been and leaving that legacy and that mark for our program to follow."
The Panthers deployed four pitchers on the mound in seniors Sarah Dawson and Taylor Rahach, redshirt sophomore Brittany Knight and freshman Abby Edwards. The quartet combined to allow 12 runs (seven earned) while striking out five in seven innings of action.
Pitt poured it on offensively, recording 15 runs, 11 hits, nine walks, four home runs and two grand slams. Senior Gabrielle Fredericks and junior Alexee Haynes both posted two hits on the day, while Kruger, seniors Olivia Gray, Alexis Solak and Taylor Myers, junior Walker Barbee and sophomores Morgan Batesole and Hunter Levesque each recorded one hit apiece.
"They got on us early, but there was a lot of game left and we have a lot of great hitters in our lineup," said Hermanek on the team using their bats to battle back from an early deficit. "We had some amazing timely hitting, and wow [Kaitlyn] Kruger. Let's just talk about how hot she is – three home runs in her last three games – and that was a big one with a lot of pressure and a lot of excitement and a lot at stake. She just stayed poised and calm. It was just a great day for our offense."
The Panthers showed off their power at the plate, with Kruger and Levesque both collecting grand slams in the matchup, while Gray and Haynes both added home runs of their own.
SCORING SUMMARY
Boston College opened the scoring in inning number one, scoring off an infield error with runners on following a sac bunt.
Pitt answered in the bottom of the frame, with Fredericks using an RBI-single up the middle to even the score at one apiece.
The Eagles' offense exploded in the second, capitalizing off some Panther miscues defensively to rack up six runs and jump out to a 7-1 lead.
The Panthers added a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, scoring off an infield error to make it 7-2.
Boston College tacked on another run in the top of the third, using a sac fly to put the score at 8-2.
Pitt again answered, storming back with a seven-run third frame via a two-run homer by Haynes and grand slam by Levesque to take the lead and make it 9-8.
The Panthers would keep their bats going in the fourth, with Gray using a two-run long ball to extend their lead to 11-8.
The Eagles jumped back into the game in the fifth, using a four-run inning to retake the lead and put the score at 12-11.
Pitt entered the seventh inning still down by one, but a walk-off grand slam by Kruger would later seal the Senior Day win for the Panthers.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will close out their season on Sunday with a 12 p.m. matchup against Boston College at Vartabedian Field.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
What was a rollercoaster of a day emotionally, with the Panthers recognizing eight seniors, became a rollercoaster of a game, with Pitt and Boston College battling back-and-forth before a grand slam by junior Kaitlyn Kruger capped off the contest.
"These seniors have meant so much to this program," said head coach Jodi Hermanek. "They play with so much pride for Pitt and their teammates. In an adverse season, you've just got to be proud of the leadership that they've given with a relentless attitude and perseverance. They've come out here and worked to be the best that they can be every single day. That's all you can ask as a coach.
"I'm just super proud of them for being as resilient as they have been and leaving that legacy and that mark for our program to follow."
The Panthers deployed four pitchers on the mound in seniors Sarah Dawson and Taylor Rahach, redshirt sophomore Brittany Knight and freshman Abby Edwards. The quartet combined to allow 12 runs (seven earned) while striking out five in seven innings of action.
Pitt poured it on offensively, recording 15 runs, 11 hits, nine walks, four home runs and two grand slams. Senior Gabrielle Fredericks and junior Alexee Haynes both posted two hits on the day, while Kruger, seniors Olivia Gray, Alexis Solak and Taylor Myers, junior Walker Barbee and sophomores Morgan Batesole and Hunter Levesque each recorded one hit apiece.
"They got on us early, but there was a lot of game left and we have a lot of great hitters in our lineup," said Hermanek on the team using their bats to battle back from an early deficit. "We had some amazing timely hitting, and wow [Kaitlyn] Kruger. Let's just talk about how hot she is – three home runs in her last three games – and that was a big one with a lot of pressure and a lot of excitement and a lot at stake. She just stayed poised and calm. It was just a great day for our offense."
The Panthers showed off their power at the plate, with Kruger and Levesque both collecting grand slams in the matchup, while Gray and Haynes both added home runs of their own.
SCORING SUMMARY
Boston College opened the scoring in inning number one, scoring off an infield error with runners on following a sac bunt.
Pitt answered in the bottom of the frame, with Fredericks using an RBI-single up the middle to even the score at one apiece.
The Eagles' offense exploded in the second, capitalizing off some Panther miscues defensively to rack up six runs and jump out to a 7-1 lead.
The Panthers added a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, scoring off an infield error to make it 7-2.
Boston College tacked on another run in the top of the third, using a sac fly to put the score at 8-2.
Pitt again answered, storming back with a seven-run third frame via a two-run homer by Haynes and grand slam by Levesque to take the lead and make it 9-8.
The Panthers would keep their bats going in the fourth, with Gray using a two-run long ball to extend their lead to 11-8.
The Eagles jumped back into the game in the fifth, using a four-run inning to retake the lead and put the score at 12-11.
Pitt entered the seventh inning still down by one, but a walk-off grand slam by Kruger would later seal the Senior Day win for the Panthers.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will close out their season on Sunday with a 12 p.m. matchup against Boston College at Vartabedian Field.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Edwards , Abby (6-13)
L: Dolby (10-10)
Batting:
2B: Martinez 1 ; Boccagno 1
3B: DiEmmanuele 1
HR: Boccagno 1
RBI: Martinez 1 ; Moore 3 ; Boccagno 3 ; Mataya 2 ; Giery 2
SH: Moore 1
SF: Moore 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DiEmmanuele 4 ; Martinez 2 ; Moore 2 ; Boccagno 2 ; Mataya 1 ; Sanders 1
SB: DiEmmanuele 1 ; Richardson 1
CS: Mataya 1
HBP: Boccagno 1 ; Mataya 1
Batting:
2B: Fredericks, Gabrielle 1 ; Solak, Alexis 1
HR: Gray, Olivia 1 ; Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Haynes, Alexee 1 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
RBI: Gray, Olivia 3 ; Levesque, Hunter 4 ; Fredericks, Gabrielle 1 ; Haynes, Alexee 2 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 4
Base Running:
RUNS: Gray, Olivia 3 ; Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Seamans, Sarah 1 ; Haynes, Alexee 1 ; Pavlick, Katlyn 1 ; Solak, Alexis 2 ; McGaffic, Connor 1 ; Bach, Hannah 1 ; Myers, Taylor 1 ; Batesole, Morgan 2 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
SB: Bach, Hannah 1
HBP: Levesque, Hunter 1 ; McGaffic, Connor 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
3
R
3
H
1
RBI
3
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
4
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/U
/ SoftballINF/C
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
P/INF
/ Softball
INF/OF
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
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