Pitt Travels to No. 12 Virginia Tech

Pitt Panthers (8-15, 0-3 ACC)
at No. 12 Virginia Tech (18-3-2, 6-0 ACC)
March 15-17, 2024
Tech Softball Park | Blacksburg, Va.
ACCN / ACCNX

QUICK HITS: The Panthers return to ACC play with a three-game series at No. 12 Virginia Tech, March 15-17, in Blacksburg, Va. Pitt finishes up a nine game, 10-day road stretch that began at the FGCU Spring Break Classic on March 8. Friday's game will be broadcasted on ACC Network with the games on Saturday and Sunday both airing on ACC Network Extra.

THE ROAD AHEAD: Pitt is on its sixth consecutive week on the road and will play a total of 26 games from Feb. 9-March 17 before returning to Pittsburgh for their home-opener (Feb. 19 - vs. Penn State). Pitt faced 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).

BY THE NUMBERS:

Junior catcher KK Esparza leads the ACC and ranks fifth in the NCAA with eight caught stealings. Esparza has caught eight runners on 22 stolen base attempts.
Kat Rodriguez leads the Panthers in OPS (.947), runs scored (13), hits (23), slugging percentage (.544), and on-base percentage (.403). Rodriguez finished the FGCU Classic batting .500 (8-for-16) with a double, a triple, and two home runs in five games. She also recorded three multi-hit efforts, including two three-hit games.
Cami Compson has recorded a hit in six of the last seven games and is batting .450 (9-for-20) in that span. Compson went 0-for-2 against FIU to snap her team-high six game hitting streak. Became the 19th Panther to record a grand slam.
Compson went 3-for-3 with three home runs against Purdue (3/9) and hit a grand slam, a two-run homer, and a solo home run. Compson became the 19th Panther to record a grand slam.
Kylie Griggs has hit a home run in three of her last five games and has recorded a hit in four straight contests.

GOING YARD AGAINST PURDUE: Cami Compson blasted three home runs in three-straight at bats and drove in seven runs in the second game Purdue to lead the Panthers to a 9-1 victory over the Boilermakers at the FGCU Spring Break Classic. Compson hit a grand slam in the first inning, a solo homer in the third, and finished with a two-run homer in the fifth inning. Compson became the first Pitt player to record three home runs in a game since Shelby Pickett accomplished the feat in 2016. Compson has recorded a hit in six straight games as she finished the weekend batting .500 (8-for-16) with eight RBI, a double, three home runs, and four runs scored. In game one against the Boilermakers on March 8, Kat Rodriguez hit two home runs against Purdue for first career multi-home run game.

HOME RUN PARTY IN FORT MYERS: The Panthers combined for six home runs in two games to sweep the second day of the FGCU Spring Break Classic, March 9. Cami Compson went 3-for-3 with three home runs as Pitt defeated Purdue, 9-1, on a walk-off home run from Kylie Griggs. Rachael Fuerst hit a three-run homer in the second game against Western Michigan as Griggs hit also went yard for her second homer of the day. Pitt combined to score 15 runs on 18 hits in two games, with eight of those runs being scored in the first inning.

AGAINST TOP OPPONENTS: The Panthers played 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), No. 4 Washington (Feb. 23), and No. 8 Oklahoma State (Feb. 24). The Panthers hold a 13-81 all-time record against top 25 opponents.