Friday, February 7
Los Angeles, Calif.
5 p.m.
Pitt
vs
CSU Bakersfield
Panthers Set to Open Season at UCLA Tournament
2/6/2020 3:01:00 PM | Softball
LOS ANGELES – The University of Pittsburgh softball team is set to begin its 2020 campaign at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, on the campus of UCLA, Friday evening against CSU Bakersfield at 5 p.m.
"I'm excited to see the infield work together with new faces and I am really excited to see Brittany [Knight] and Abby [Edwards] get out there and compete and lead us in the circle," said head coach Jodi Hermanek. "I'm excited to see our offense and what we generate in our lineup as far as unity. There is good competition out here and I'm excited to see where our mindset is at, because we intentionally train to remain consistent on the field and mentally as well."
THE SCHEDULE
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"I'm excited to see the infield work together with new faces and I am really excited to see Brittany [Knight] and Abby [Edwards] get out there and compete and lead us in the circle," said head coach Jodi Hermanek. "I'm excited to see our offense and what we generate in our lineup as far as unity. There is good competition out here and I'm excited to see where our mindset is at, because we intentionally train to remain consistent on the field and mentally as well."
THE SCHEDULE
- Pitt will play five games in the three-day tournament, facing four different opponents.
- The Panthers begin the 2020 campaign against CSU Bakersfield Friday, Feb. 7 at 5 p.m. and follows up with Cal Poly at 7:30 p.m.
- On Saturday, Pitt will clash with San Diego at 12 p.m. before taking on the defending National Champion UCLA Bruins at 2:30 p.m.
- The Panthers round out the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament against UCLA Sunday at 12 p.m.
- The Panthers are a collective 3-2 all-time against the four California teams.
- Five teams will meet Pitt inside the circle for the first time in 2020, including Cal Poly, Campbell, Clemson, Northern Kentucky and Towson.
- The Panthers' schedule features six teams currently ranked or receiving votes in both the ESPN / USA Softball Preseason Poll and USA Today / NFCA Preseason Poll.
- Seven new Panthers join the team in 2020, including five freshmen and two transfers.
- Junior LoLo Sanchez, from Stockton, Calif., comes from Mercer, while Jada Crittendon played for ACC opponent Virginia Tech a season ago.
- Rounding out the freshmen newcomers are Hope Alley, Kayla Lane, Taegen Lewellen, Becca Miller and Makenzie Stiles.
- Hunter Levesque returns for her junior season after leading the Panthers on the offensive end a year ago.
- Levesque finished in the top-25 in the ACC in multiple categories last season, including SLG% (.611 - 19th), OBP% (.423 - 23rd), home runs (11 - T-15th) and sacrifice hits (6 - T-4th).
- Levesque, who earned NFCA All-Region and All-ACC Second Team honors a year ago, finished 2019 hitting .322 with 48 hits, 31 RBIs, 31 runs, 11 stolen bases, six doubles and an OPS of 1.034.
- The Panthers and Roadrunners meet for the first time since Feb. 7, 2014 to open the 2020 season.
- Pitt is 2-0 all-time against CSU Bakersfield. Both wins came in 2014, a doubleheader to open the regular season.
- CSU Bakersfield finished the 2019 season with a 15-32 overall record, including a 3-15 mark in WAC play.
- The Roadrunners are led offensively by seniors Cydney Curran and Karah Wiseman. Curran finished eighth in the WAC in batting average (.339) and first in triples with 10. Curran totaled team bests in OPS (.894), hits (43) and SLG% (.528), while also tallying 13 RBIs and 22 runs. Wiseman had 29 hits, 13 RBIs and swiped a team-best eight bags.
- Junior Daryn Hitzel leads the pitching staff for the Roadrunners, as she finished with 113 innings pitched and a 4.21 ERA last season. Hitzel totaled six complete games and 38 strikeouts.
- The 7:30 p.m. showdown on Feb. 7 will be the first meeting in program history between Cal Poly and the Panthers.
- THE SERIES - SAN DIEGO
- The Panthers and Toreros have met twice before, both games coming in 2016 at the San Diego State Tournament.
- The series is split 1-1, with the last meeting being a 6-5 San Diego victory March 8, 2016.
- Cal Poly finished 2019 with an overall mark of 11-40 and 5-16 in Big West play.
- Junior Sarah Wulff and senior Hailey Martin led the Mustangs on offense last season. Wulff led the team with a .297 batting average and had 11 hits and 14 runs in just 37 at bats. She also led the squad with seven stolen bases. Martin batted .275 and finished with a team-best 39 hits, while knocking in 13 RBIs and hitting seven doubles.
- Steffi Best returns for her senior year, coming off a 2019 where she pitched a team-high 153 innings and recorded 66 strikeouts. Senior Shelby Jeffries led the Mustangs with a 3.74 ERA last year and had 13 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched.
- The Panthers and Toreros have met twice before, both games coming in 2016 at the San Diego State Tournament.
- The series is split 1-1, with the last meeting being a 6-5 San Diego victory March 8, 2016.
- San Diego went 20-29 overall last season with a 4-11 mark in WCC play.
- The Toreros are led by senior Sara Silveyra and sophomore Sophia Bjerk offensively. Silveyra finished among the best in the WCC last season, ranking second in batting average (.348) and first in doubles (17). She also posted a team-best 29 RBIs while also recording 48 hits. Bjerk finished 11th in the WCC with a .306 batting average and also tallied 33 hits, 20 RBIs and 18 runs.
- Three pitchers registered 23 or more appearances a year ago, all of which return for San Diego in 2020. Senior Delaney Heller finished 11-11 with a 3.96 ERA and 87 strikeouts. Sophomore Madison Earnshaw had a team-best 88 strikeouts in 26 appearances, while junior Halle Kyler went 4-2 with 39 strikeouts in 60.2 innings of work.
- A 5-3 UCLA decision March 11, 2012 is the only previous meeting between the Panthers and Bruins.
- The meeting occurred in Lakewood, Calif., in the Long Beach State Tournament. UCLA was ranked No. 17 and earned hosting rights in the Los Angeles Regional that year in the NCAA Division I Softball Tournament.
- 2019 was a year to remember for the Bruins, winning the College World Series, a share of the Pac-12 title and earning numerous accolades in a dominant 56-6 season.
- UCLA, who comes into 2020 ranked No. 4 in the nation, boasts multiple offensive weapons, including the return of sophomore Kelli Godin and junior Briana Perez.
- Godin led the Pac-12 with a .418 batting average, a number also good for 27th in the nation. Godin swiped 23 bags (second in Pac-12) and totaled 56 hits, 13 RBIs and 45 runs. Perez's batting average of .383 finished 10th in the Pac-12 in 237 plate appearances (3rd in Pac-12). Her 80 hits were second best in the conference, while she also recorded 45 RBIs, 11 doubles and 21 stolen bases.
- The Bruins will be without redshirt senior Rachel Garcia and senior Bubba Nickles. Garcia won multiple Player of the Year awards, including the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year (Honda Cup), in 2019 while Nickles was named Softball America First Team All-American and NFCA Second Team All-American among other recognitions. Both will redshirt the 2020 season after being named to the United States Softball Olympic Team in October.
- Following the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, Pitt heads to Clemson, S.C., to compete in the ACC/B1G Ten Challenge from Feb. 14-16. The Panthers will face Michigan State and Maryland twice.
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