Saturday, February 15
Clemson, S.C.
10 a.m.
Pitt
4-3
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Maryland
1-6
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Pitt
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Maryland
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Photo by: Nick Allen
Panthers Split in Second Day of ACC/B1G Challenge
2/15/2020 7:50:00 PM | Softball
CLEMSON, S.C. – The University of Pittsburgh softball team defeated Maryland, 8-5, and fell to Michigan State 11-3 in five innings Saturday in day two of the ACC/B1G Challenge.
The split decision evened Pitt's record to 4-4 overall on the year and 4-2 in neutral site games.
In game one against Maryland, freshman Hope Alley drew a bases loaded walk, bringing in junior Hunter Levesque for the first run of the game.
In the second inning, junior LoLo Sanchez walked on a wild pitch, scoring classmate Morgan Batesole to make it 2-0. The next at bat, sophomore Katlyn Pavlick smacked a three run home run over the left-center field wall, increasing the Panthers lead, 5-0.
In the bottom half of the second, Maryland's Regan Kerr was hit by a pitch, scoring a run and making it a 5-1 game. Campbell Kline reached on a fielder's choice in the next at bat, cutting the deficit to three (5-2). In the ensuing at bat, Anna Kufta singled to the right side, scoring two runs and making the score 5-4. Junior Brittany Knight relieved sophomore starter Abby Edwards for the Panthers and got out of the inning with a one run lead.
In the bottom of the third, Terrapin Grace Voulgaris homered to centerfield, tying the game at five all.
Batesole, who walked off last night with a RBI single in the bottom of the seventh against Michigan State, came in clutch again in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Hannah Bach led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Batesole singled, scoring Bach and giving Pitt the lead back, 6-5. Levesque, the very next batter, singled down the right field line, bringing in Batesole and extending the lead by two (7-5).
The Panthers added an insurance run in the top half of the sixth, as Alley singled to the left side, scoring senior Kaitlyn Kruger to make it an 8-5 score.
Maryland pressured the Panthers with runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Knight was able to force a fly out to left, clinching the win.
Pavlick finished with a career-high three RBIs. Levesque went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, one run and a walk. Knight, who broke her career high last night with nine strikeouts in a game, tied that career high again in 5.2 innings, throwing nine K's and giving up five hits and one earned run. Knight improved her record to 4-1 on the season.
"The coaching staff is proud of how our team battled through adversity of being behind in game one to earn the win," said head coach Jodi Hermanek. "That type of fight and mental discrimination will carry us a long way in our season."
In game two against Michigan State, Kruger doubled to left centerfield in the top of the first, scoring Pavlick to take a 1-0 advantage. Michigan State knotted the game back up at one quickly, hitting a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. The Spartans took a 2-1 lead after Courtney Callahan singled to left field.
Michigan State tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth, going up 4-1. The Panthers gained one back after Batesole's groundout to third brought in Bach (4-2), but in the bottom half of the inning, Spartan Katelyn Hendershott hit a sac fly to give Michigan State a three run, 5-2 cushion.
Senior Connor McGaffic singled up the middle, scoring Pavlick to strike within two in the top half of the fifth, however, Michigan State scored six in the bottom of the fifth, securing the 11-3 victory.
"Game two doesn't define us," Hermanek said. "Our team is committed to reloading and coming out aggressive and attacking tomorrow."
Pavlick went 2-for-2 with two runs and a walk against the Spartans. In both games combined, the sophomore went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, three runs, a home run and a walk.
The Panthers conclude the ACC/B1G Challenge tomorrow against Maryland at 10 a.m.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The split decision evened Pitt's record to 4-4 overall on the year and 4-2 in neutral site games.
In game one against Maryland, freshman Hope Alley drew a bases loaded walk, bringing in junior Hunter Levesque for the first run of the game.
In the second inning, junior LoLo Sanchez walked on a wild pitch, scoring classmate Morgan Batesole to make it 2-0. The next at bat, sophomore Katlyn Pavlick smacked a three run home run over the left-center field wall, increasing the Panthers lead, 5-0.
Pavlick's three run bomb ?? to left center!#H2P pic.twitter.com/6vCnxPI6zb
— Pitt Softball (@Pitt_SB) February 15, 2020
In the bottom half of the second, Maryland's Regan Kerr was hit by a pitch, scoring a run and making it a 5-1 game. Campbell Kline reached on a fielder's choice in the next at bat, cutting the deficit to three (5-2). In the ensuing at bat, Anna Kufta singled to the right side, scoring two runs and making the score 5-4. Junior Brittany Knight relieved sophomore starter Abby Edwards for the Panthers and got out of the inning with a one run lead.
In the bottom of the third, Terrapin Grace Voulgaris homered to centerfield, tying the game at five all.
Batesole, who walked off last night with a RBI single in the bottom of the seventh against Michigan State, came in clutch again in the top of the fifth. Sophomore Hannah Bach led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. Batesole singled, scoring Bach and giving Pitt the lead back, 6-5. Levesque, the very next batter, singled down the right field line, bringing in Batesole and extending the lead by two (7-5).
The Panthers added an insurance run in the top half of the sixth, as Alley singled to the left side, scoring senior Kaitlyn Kruger to make it an 8-5 score.
Maryland pressured the Panthers with runners on second and third and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Knight was able to force a fly out to left, clinching the win.
Pavlick finished with a career-high three RBIs. Levesque went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, one run and a walk. Knight, who broke her career high last night with nine strikeouts in a game, tied that career high again in 5.2 innings, throwing nine K's and giving up five hits and one earned run. Knight improved her record to 4-1 on the season.
"The coaching staff is proud of how our team battled through adversity of being behind in game one to earn the win," said head coach Jodi Hermanek. "That type of fight and mental discrimination will carry us a long way in our season."
In game two against Michigan State, Kruger doubled to left centerfield in the top of the first, scoring Pavlick to take a 1-0 advantage. Michigan State knotted the game back up at one quickly, hitting a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. The Spartans took a 2-1 lead after Courtney Callahan singled to left field.
Michigan State tacked on two more in the bottom of the fourth, going up 4-1. The Panthers gained one back after Batesole's groundout to third brought in Bach (4-2), but in the bottom half of the inning, Spartan Katelyn Hendershott hit a sac fly to give Michigan State a three run, 5-2 cushion.
Senior Connor McGaffic singled up the middle, scoring Pavlick to strike within two in the top half of the fifth, however, Michigan State scored six in the bottom of the fifth, securing the 11-3 victory.
"Game two doesn't define us," Hermanek said. "Our team is committed to reloading and coming out aggressive and attacking tomorrow."
Pavlick went 2-for-2 with two runs and a walk against the Spartans. In both games combined, the sophomore went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, three runs, a home run and a walk.
The Panthers conclude the ACC/B1G Challenge tomorrow against Maryland at 10 a.m.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Knight, Brittany (4-1)
L: Amelia Jarecke (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
HR: Pavlick, Katlyn 1
RBI: Levesque, Hunter 1 ; Pavlick, Katlyn 3 ; Alley, Hope 2 ; Batesole, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Levesque, Hunter 2 ; Sanchez, LoLo 1 ; Pavlick, Katlyn 1 ; Kruger, Kaitlyn 1 ; Bach, Hannah 1 ; Batesole, Morgan 2
HBP: Kruger, Kaitlyn 1
Batting:
2B: Taylor Okada 1
HR: Gracie Voulgaris 1
RBI: Regan Kerr 1 ; Campbell Kline 1 ; Anna Kufta 2 ; Gracie Voulgaris 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Regan Kerr 1 ; Taylor Okada 1 ; Gracie Voulgaris 2 ; Amanda Brashear 1
SB: Regan Kerr 1
CS: Campbell Kline 2
HBP: Regan Kerr 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
2
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
3
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
C/U
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/U
/ Softball
P/INF
/ SoftballINF/OF
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF/INF
/ Softball
INF
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