Pitt Travels to College Station for Texas A&M Invite

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt softball team heads to the southwest to participate in the Texas A&M Invitational beginning Friday, Feb. 18.

LEADING OFF

Pitt heads to College Station, Texas, to partake in the Texas A&M Invitational Feb. 18-19.
The Panthers went 2-3 in their first weekend in Leesburg, Fla., earning wins against Akron and Eastern Kentucky.
In five games, Pitt's offense is outhitting (30-23), outscoring (21-12) and out-slugging (.367-.281) its opposition.

AROUND THE DIAMOND

Pitt went 2-3 in the Northern Lights Invitational in Leesburg, Fla., defeating Akron & Eastern Kentucky and dropping two pitcher's duel contests vs. Michigan State and Penn State.
The Panther pitching staff performed well in the circle, leaving Florida with a 1.75 staff ERA, two complete games and 25 strikeouts. Pitt held its opponents to a .202 batting average.
Pitt's offense came alive versus Akron, scoring 10 runs with eight hits and forcing seven walks. It followed that up with a 7-1 victory over EKU, tallying 12 hits with a homer and only two K's in seven innings.
Pitt stole 10 bases last week, including eight vs. Akron, which is the most in a single-game since joining the ACC.
Freshman Haylie Brunson finished the weekend with a team-high .471 AVG, totaling 8 hits, 3 doubles, 3 RBI and a .647 SLG%. She was named to the Northern Lights Invitational All-Tourney Team.

SCOUTING REPORT

Pitt heads to College Station for four games in two days in the Texas A&M Invitational at Davis Diamond.
The Panthers open with Missouri State, who enters with a 1-4 record but coming off a nationally-ranked victory over No. 21 Arizona State. Steffany Dickerson threw a complete-game (5 inn.) vs. ASU, striking out five and allowing only one hit. She as 13 K's on the year.
Stephen F. Austin owns a 1-5 record with a 1-3 showing in neutral site games. Shaylon Govan leads the team with a .368 BA AVG., 7 hits, 2 HRs, 7 RBI and a .789 SLG%.
Kansas is Pitt's first opponent Saturday morning and comes into College Station 4-1. The Jayhawks are 18th in the country in walks (23) and T-21st in scoring, as they average eight runs a game. Shayna Espy is batting .556 with 10 hits, 4 RBI, 7 runs and 3 stolen bases.
Host school Texas A&M enters with a perfect 5-0 record after hosting the Aggie Classic last weekend. Like Kansas, the Aggie's also average 8.00 runs per game and rank 18th in the country in SLG% (.602) and 11th in on-base % (.479). Trinity Cannon is one of four players nationally with three homers, while Haley Lee is batting .818 with 9 hits, 8 RBI, 5 runs, 7 walks and 2 stolen bags.

BRUNSON SUPERB IN DEBUT

Freshman Haylie Brunson had a fantastic first weekend of softball, the first of her collegiate career.
The Mount Pleasant, Pa., product hit a team-best .471 with 8 hits, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 3 runs, 11 total bases and registered a .647 slugging percentage and .471 on-base percentage.
Brunson is tied for 33rd in the nation in hits and is one of eight freshmen across the nation with eight or more hits.
She is tied for 13th in the country in doubles and tied for second among all freshmen in that category.
Her efforts in Leesburg earned her a spot on the Northern Lights All-Tournament Team.

THE NEED FOR SPEED

Pitt totaled 10 stolen bases in the Northern Lights Invitational with seven different Panthers recording a stolen bag.
EC Taylor had a team-best three on the weekend including two against Akron. It was the eighth multi-steal game of her career as she finished T-2nd for a single season with 27 stolen bases in her first year as a Panther in 2021.
Pitt had eight stolen bases vs. Akron, the most since joining the ACC in 2013-14.

FINDING TRIPLES ALLY

The Panthers are one of eight teams nationally to record four or more triples after the first weekend of play.
Pitt ranks eighth in triples per game (0.80) and is one of two ACC schools in the top-10 in triples (North Carolina/5).

UP NEXT

Pitt next travels to Spartanburg, S.C., for five games in three days in the USC Upstate Tournament on the campus of South Carolina Upstate.
Competition begins Friday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m. versus Tennessee Tech.
The Panthers will face Tennessee Tech twice, Cleveland State twice and host school USC Upstate.

Pitt Travels to College Station for Texas A&M Invite

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haylie Brunson

EC Taylor

Pitt Travels to College Station for Texas A&M Invite

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Haylie Brunson

EC Taylor

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