Pitt Preps for Six Games in Five Days Starting Tuesday at Furman

Tuesday, March 10

Greenville, SC

2 p.m.

Pitt

Furman

Hunter Levesque and Kayla Lane high fiving.

Photo by: Justin Pondexter/Pitt Athletics

Pitt Preps for Six Games in Five Days Starting Tuesday at Furman

3/9/2020 5:06:00 PM | Softball

Game Notes

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt softball team ends its six week road trip this week, starting Tuesday, March 10 at Furman in Greenville, S.C., at 1 p.m.
After Furman, the Panthers travel to Charlotte, N.C., and play Charlotte Wednesday at 3 p.m. Pitt concludes the week with two games Friday and Saturday against Saint Joseph's and Campbell in the Camel Stampede in Buies Creek, N.C.

LEADING OFF

The Panthers round out their six week road trip in the Carolinas, playing Furman and Charlotte once each and Saint Joseph's and Campbell twice each.
The meeting against Campbell Friday will be the first for the Panthers in program history. Pitt has also only faced Furman once before, back on March 9, 2007.

THE SCHEDULE

Pitt opens up its six games in as many days at Furman Tuesday (1 PM) followed by Charlotte Wednesday at 3 PM. The Panthers will participate in the Camel Stampede, where they will play Saint Joseph's (1 PM) and host school Campbell (6 PM) Friday, then end the weekend with Saint Joseph's (10 AM) and Campbell (12:30 PM) again Saturday.

GOOD KNIGHT

Through eight starts, redshirt junior Brittany Knight has six wins and has punched out 42 batters while throwing six complete games in the process.
Knight holds a 4.04 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. Her six complete games is tied for seventh in the ACC.
The Windham, Ohio, native has caused 11 of her 42 batters to strike out looking.
Knight came in relief in the first inning Sunday at Clemson and pitched arguably her best outing of the season, throwing seven scoreless innings of one hit ball. The Tigers scored two runs in the first before Knight shut down the powerful Clemson offense, allowing just one walk and striking out one.
Knight pitched a complete game at North Carolina on Feb. 28, giving up three earned and striking out three for her fifth win of the 2020 campaign.
At the ACC/B1G Challenge, Knight broke her career single-game strikeout record with nine Ks vs. Michigan State. Knight followed that performance up with nine strikeouts vs. Maryland, throwing 18 strikeouts in 12.2 innings of action.
Knight opened the season against CSU Bakersfield, where she threw a complete game with six strikeouts and allowed just one earned run. She followed that performance up with a complete game showing vs. San Diego, giving up just one earned and striking out three.

POWERFUL PAVLICK

Sophomore Katlyn Pavlick has showed her muscle this season, leading the team in slugging percentage (.635), home runs (4) and RBIs (11).
The South Park, Pa., native is tied for first on the team in hits (16), first in OPS (1.025), second in runs (12) and fourth in batting average (.308).

Last Sunday at Clemson, Pavlick hit a two-run home run and finished the day 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run and a walk.
Against UNC on Feb. 28, Pavlick went 2-for-4 with a home run, triple, two RBIs and two runs. Her home run was hit in the first inning off the first pitch of the game, becoming the first Panther since Olivia Gray on April 13 of last year to lead off an inning with a homer.
Pavlick went 5-for-12 with five RBIs, one double, a home run and four runs in four games at the ACC/ B1G Challenge against Michigan State and Maryland.
During the opening season Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament at UCLA, Pavlick homered, tripled, scored four runs and collected five hits.

ON THE HUNT

Junior Hunter Levesque has picked up where she left off in 2019, batting .320 with a .993 OPS, 16 hits and 13 runs to her credit. Levesque hit .322 last season with a 1.034 OPS, 11 home runs and 31 RBIs on her way to All-ACC Second Team and NFCA All- Region Second Team honors.
The Troy, N.Y., product has four doubles, a triple and two home runs while registering 28 total bases and leads the team with a .433 on base percentage.
Levesque currently holds a career-high nine game hitting streak, starting February 22 at UMass.
This past weekend at Clemson, Levesque went 3-for- 9 with a double, RBI, run and a walk.
In Chapel Hill, Levesque hit .333 with a double, triple and a home run and scored four runs, recording a slugging percentage of 1.000.
Levesque enjoyed a productive weekend at the ACC/ B1G Challenge in Clemson, going 5-for-11 with three runs, one double and five walks.
Levesque made a diving grab to her right to end the third inning against San Diego in the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament, ultimately earning a spot on the NCAA Softball Top Five Plays list at number five.

KRUGER CATCHING FIRE

Senior Kaitlyn Kruger is swinging a hot bat, hitting .333 with a .563 slugging percentage and five doubles. Kruger's batting average and slugging percentage is second on the team, while her five doubles is tied for eighth in the ACC.
The Calabasas, Calif., native is tied for first on the team in hits with 16 and tied for second on the squad with two home runs and seven RBIs.
Kruger added an insurance run for the Panthers Sunday at Clemson, hitting a leadoff home run in the top of the fifth, aiding the Panthers to an 8-2 victory.
Last weekend at North Carolina, Kruger went 4-for-7 with two doubles and an RBI, totaling six bases and hitting .571 for the weekend.
In the Pirate Invite, she hit .375 with a double and three hits.
At the ACC/B1G Challenge, Kruger hit two doubles and produced two RBIs while slugging .417.

SENIORS STEPPING UP

Seniors Walker Barbee, Alexee Haynes, Kaitlyn Kruger and Connor McGaffic have been productive on the offensive end for the Panthers the last two weeks.
Last weekend at Clemson, the seniors totaled 11 of the 23 Panther hits, hitting a combined .311 and slugging .495.
McGaffic and Kruger each homered, while Haynes doubled and registered five total bases. Barbee had a hit and a walk and is tied for second on the team in walks with six.
At North Carolina, they combined for 14 of the teams 23 hits, hitting a collective .433.
Haynes finished the UNC series 5-for-10 with a triple and two RBIs. McGaffic had three hits and an RBI, while Barbee had two hits, including a home run and drew three walks.

PANTHERS IN THE CLUTCH

Sophomore Sarah Seamans jump started the offense Sunday at Clemson, hitting a pinch hit grand slam to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning.
Seamans came up to bat with no outs and the bases loaded in the fourth. Seamans, who had one plate appearance up to that point in the series, smacked a homer over the left field wall. It was the first home run of her career.
The Panthers used the grand slam as momentum, scoring four more runs and hitting two more homers in an 8-2 victory over Clemson.
Junior Morgan Batesole came up big for the Panthers Feb. 14 vs. Michigan State, delivering a walk-off single to defeat the Spartans 3-2.
Tied with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Walnut Creek, Calif., native hit a single up the middle, scoring Hope Alley to give Pitt the victory. The Panthers were down 2-1 with two outs a no one on in the bottom of the seventh before the rally was capped off by Batesole.

THE SERIES – FURMAN

The Panthers and Paladins meet for the second time in program history Tuesday.
These two met for the first time on March 9, 2007. Pitt won 4-0.

SCOUTING THE PALADINS

Furman enters the weekend 7-17 overall, most recently going 2-3 in the UAB Tournament last weekend.
The Paladins are led offensively by Natalie Morgan, who is hitting a team-best .294. She leads Furman in OPS (1.025), hits (20), doubles (5), home runs (5), RBIs (18), slugging percentage (.618) and tied for first in stolen bases with six.
Entering Tuesday, Bailey Tanner holds a 4-7 record inside the circle for Furman. She has registered a 4.23 ERA and has struck out 34 batters in 81.0 innings of work.

THE SERIES – CHARLOTTE

The Panthers and 49ers meet for the sixth time Wednesday.
The 49ers hold a 4-1 advantage over the Panthers and also won the last meeting on March 11, 2009 by a score of 5-4.

SCOUTING THE 49ERS

Charlotte enters the contest 13-13 overall with a 2-1 mark in Conference USA play.
The 49ers have four batters batting over .300, with Bailey Vannoy leading the way with a .479 batting average.
Vannoy leads the Conference USA and is 24th in the nation with that batting average mark, and is also first in the conference in hits (35), home runs (12), slugging percentage (1.096) and total bases (80). Vannoy's slugging percentage is also second in the country.
Charlotte has had six players enter the circle this year, with Carson Pace leading the team in wins (4) and innings pitched (69.2). Pace holds a 4.42 ERA and has three saves on the season, which is third in the conference and ninth in the nation.
As a team, Charlotte is second in the Conference USA in stolen bases per game (1.58)

THE SERIES - SAINT JOSEPH'S

The Panthers and Hawks meet for the fourth and fifth time this weekend.
Pitt leads the all-time series, 2-1, while the Hawks won the last meeting, 8-6, on Feb. 25, 2018.

SCOUTING THE HAWKS

As of Monday, March 9, Saint Joseph's has a record of 4-10. The Hawks, who played in the Lopes Up Classic in Phoenix, Ariz., last weekend, stay in the state Arizona to face No. 3 Arizona on Tuesday.
The Hawks are led offensively by Jancarla Herrera. Herrera is batting .368 with a team-best 14 hits. She also has a team-best .415 on base percentage.
Saige Stutz is 2-2 on the year with a 4.13 ERA in the circle. In 28.1 innings, she has struck out 19 batters and has thrown one complete game.

THE SERIES – CAMPBELL

The Panthers and Lady Camels meet for the first time in program history Friday.

SCOUTING THE LADY CAMELS

Campbell enters the weekend 10-14 overall. Campbell plays host to Gardner Webb for a three-game series starting Wednesday to open up Big South play.
The Lady Camels have three players hitting over .300, led by Destini England who is hitting .368. England is second in the Big South in hits with 31. England has a team-best 17 runs, two triples and has swiped 10 bags so far this season. Kayla Fredenhall provides power for the Lady Camels, with a conference best seven home runs on the year.
Five players have entered the circle for Campbell, led by Georgeanna Barefoot, who is 5-6 on the year with a 2.33 ERA. Barefoot has thrown eight complete games, four shutouts and has struck out 84 batters over 75.0 innings. Her four shutouts rank second in the conference and ninth in the country, while her strikeouts are third in the Big South.

UP NEXT

Pitt travels to University Park, Pa., for one game with Penn State Tuesday, March 18 at 6 p.m.
After Penn State, Pitt hosts Duke for its first home game and series starting Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m.

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