Pitt
Yale
Panthers Travel to USF for South Florida Showdown
2/22/2024 6:01:00 PM | Softball
Pitt Panthers (5-4, 0-0 ACC)
at South Florida Showdown
Feb. 23-25, 2024
Eddie C. Moore Complex | Tampa, Fla.
QUICK HITS: The Panthers continue the 2024 campaign at the South Florida Showdown, hosted by USF from Feb. 23-25. The Panthers will play five games over the three-day tournament, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday against Yale (9 a.m.) and No. 4 Washington (11:30 a.m.). Pitt will play another doubleheader on Saturday against No. 8 Oklahoma State (9 a.m.) and USF (2 p.m. - ESPN+). The Panthers will wrap up the weekend with a single game on Sunday against Loyola-Chicago (9 a.m.). The Panthers' game against USF will be streamed on ESPN+ — live stats will be available for all other games through StatBroadcast.
THE ROAD AHEAD: Pitt begins the season on the road for the first six weeks, playing 26 games from Feb. 9-March 17 before returning to Pittsburgh for their home-opener (Feb. 19 - vs. Penn State). Pitt will face four 2023 NCAA tournament teams in the first three weeks of the season, facing off against No. 12 LSU (Feb. 10-11), Ole Miss (Feb. 16, 18), No. 6 Washington (Feb. 23), and No. 8 Oklahoma State (Feb. 24).
AGAINST TOP OPPONENTS: The Panthers are slated to play three opponents ranked in the top 15 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll in the first three weekends of the season. Pitt played No. 12 LSU (Feb. 10-11) and will face off against No. 4 Washington (Feb. 23), and No. 8 Oklahoma State (Feb. 24). The Panthers hold a 13-79 all-time record against top 25 opponents.
STRONG STARTS: After the first two weeks of the season, junior pitcher Kyra Pittman has recorded a 3-1 record and a 1.66 ERA (6 er / 25.1 ip) in four starts. Pittman is one of 13 pitchers in the ACC to earn three or more wins in the first two weeks of the season and ranks 14th among ACC pitchers in ERA.
THE ALLARD ERA: Director of Athletics Heather Lyke announced NFCA Hall of Famer Jenny Allard as the fourth head coach in Pitt softball history in June 2023. Allard comes to Pitt after spending the past 28 seasons at the helm of the Harvard softball program where she was the Ivy League's longest-tenured and winningest softball coach. Allard, who was named to the NFCA Hall of Fame Class of 2022, owns a 693-522-4 (.570) overall record, including a 342-130-1 Ivy League mark. Coach Allard is seven wins away from reaching the 700 career victory milestone and is currently ranks 42 among active DI Coaches in wins.
