Panthers Power to 4-0 Weekend at Colonel Classic

Sunday, March 1

Richmond, KY

10 AM

Pitt

12-6

Bradley

5-13

Bradley

Pitt

Panthers Power to 4-0 Weekend at Colonel Classic

3/1/2026 3:21:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Pitt softball team completed a perfect weekend at the Colonel Classic, earning two wins on the final day to finish the tournament 4-0. The Panthers defeated Bradley, 5-3, before turning up the offense in an 11-7 win over Eastern Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

Game One: Pitt 5, Bradley 3
Tieley Vaughn set the tone with a solo home run in the bottom of the first to give the Panthers a 1-0 advantage. Mackenzie Reese kept the momentum going with a solo home run in the second, extending Pitt's lead to 2-0.

Mia Kliethermes started in the circle. After giving up a hit and a walk in the first inning, she returned in the second and struck out the side, totaling four strikeouts over her first eight batters faced.

Bradley answered with a single and a home run in the top of the third to tie the game at 2-2. Pitt rallied in the bottom of the third with two outs to retake the lead. Gracie Helton drew a walk, and Ahmari Braden doubled to put the Panthers in scoring position. Shelby Frazier followed with a single to third base, scoring Helton, and Braden reached home on a Bradley throwing error to give Pitt a 4-2 advantage.

Mia retired the side in the fourth to send the Panthers back to bat.

Bradley added a run in the sixth to make it a one-run game, but Pitt responded in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double from Mackenzie Reese, making it 5-3 heading into the final inning.

Kliethermes earned the win, allowing just two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts over 5.0 innings pitched.

Game Two: Pitt 11, EKU 7
Four Panthers recorded multi-hit games as Pitt scored 11 runs on 11 hits in the second game of the day.

The Panthers took control in the third inning, plating four runs after EKU struck first in the opening inning. Tieley Vaughn drew a leadoff walk, and Alena Ball beat out a bunt single to put runners on. Calle Henne and KK Esparza followed with back-to-back RBI singles to give Pitt a 2-1 advantage. Gracie Helton added another RBI single before Shelby Frazier drove in a run with a groundout to third. Pitt finished the inning with four hits and four runs to take a 4-1 lead.

EKU responded with a run in the bottom of the third to make it 4-2, but Esparza answered in the top of the fourth with her second RBI single of the game to extend the lead to 5-2.

Pitt broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning. One run scored on a fielding error, Ball delivered a two-run single, Vaughn scored on a wild pitch, and Esparza capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to right-center to give the Panthers a 10-3 advantage.

EKU continued to battle, scoring two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to cut the deficit to 10–7.

Pitt added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Henne before the inning ended on a double play.

Kyra Pittman earned the win, allowing three runs (two earned) with one strikeout and no walks. Gwen Sparks provided 2.0 shutout innings of relief, surrendering just two hits while striking out three.

UP NEXT
Pitt begins ACC play with a trip to the West Coast to face Stanford, March 6–8.