Pitt
2-1
Southern Mississippi
1-2
Panthers Shutout Kennesaw State, Pick Up Two Wins at NFCA Classic
2/8/2025 8:59:00 PM | Softball
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Pitt softball team continued the opening weekend of the 2025 season by securing two wins during the second day of the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.
The Panthers opened the day with an 8-1 win over Southern Miss and followed with a 2-0 shutout victory over Kennesaw State to improve to 3-1 on the young season.
Saleyna Daniel finished the day going 5-for-6 at the plate with two doubles, two RBI, and two runs scored.
Pitt 8, Southern Miss 1
The Panthers got a hot start to the day, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Tieley Vaughn singled through the left side and reached second base on a throwing error. Kaitlyn Brannstrom drove in Vaughn on the next at bat to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead. KK Esparza drew a walk to put the runners on first and second as Desirae Martinez homered down the left field line to cap off the inning at 4-0.
Pitt did not score for the next two frames but added two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings. Saleyna Daniel led off the bottom of the fourth with a single up the middle and Amanda Ramirez drew a walk to put two runners on base. Alena Ball reached on an error from the first baseman that ended up scoring two runs for the Panthers.
In the fifth inning, the Panthers had four hits and scored two more runs. Daniel hit a double, Martinez followed with a single, and Ana Hernandez drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Shelby Frazier entered as a pinch hitter and drew a walk with the bases loaded to add another run.
Freshman Bekah Duck made her first start in the circle and earned the win, tossing 5.0 innings while allowing just one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts. Gwen Sparks pitched 2.0 shutout innings of relief, allowing just one hit and one walk with two strikeouts.
Pitt 2, Kennesaw State 0
Senior Kyra Pittman pitched a complete game shutout to anchor the Panthers to a 2-0 win over Kennesaw State. Pittman allowed just three hits with three strikeouts and two walks over 7.0 innings.
Redshirt freshman Shelby Frazier and senior transfer Saleyna Daniel led the Panthers' offense, combining for 5-of-6 hits on the night. Frazier finished going 3-for-3 with a run scored as Daniel went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
UP NEXT
The Panthers close out opening weekend with a single game against No. 6 Tennessee tomorrow at 11 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Duck, Bekah (1-0)
L: BrookLynn White (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Paris Ferguson 1
RBI: Claire Ginder 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Natalie Taylor 1
Batting:
2B: Daniel, Saleyna 1
HR: Martinez, Desirae 1
RBI: Brannstrom, Kaitlyn 1 ; Daniel, Saleyna 1 ; Martinez, Desirae 3 ; Frazier, Shelby 1
SH: Hernandez, Ana 1
SF: Daniel, Saleyna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Vaughn, Tieley 1 ; Brannstrom, Kaitlyn 1 ; Esparza, KK 1 ; Daniel, Saleyna 2 ; Martinez, Desirae 1 ; Braden, Ahmari 1 ; Duck, Bekah 1
SB: Daniel, Saleyna 1 ; Braden, Ahmari 1
CS: Murphy, Camryn 1
