Softball: Sevilla leads Pitt’s offense

Opposing pitchers are beginning to fear the voice of rapper T-Pain at the Petersen Sports… Opposing pitchers are beginning to fear the voice of rapper T-Pain at the Petersen Sports Complex.

That’s because when the hip-hop artist’s catchy tune “Booty Wurk” comes over the loud speakers at the second-year home of the Pitt softball team, it means that the Panthers’ lead-off hitter Maggie Sevilla is taking her place in the batter’s box.

With nine hits in her last nine games, Sevilla has led an improving Pitt offense as the Panthers (25-22, 8-11) look to finish off a challenging season on a strong note.

After recording her first career multi-home run game in a win against DePaul — one of the Big East’s best teams — last weekend, Sevilla guided the Panthers to victory with the long ball once again on Saturday evening against Connecticut.

With one swing of the bat, Sevilla smacked her seventh home run of the season over the centerfield fence and broke open what had been a tight, defensive game as her three-run shot gave Pitt a 5-0 lead.

Sevilla said she was happy to hit finally her first career home run at her home field.

“Hitting those two last week at DePaul definitely gave me a lot of confidence, and then hitting my first home run here was such a great feeling,” she said following Saturday’s doubleheader, which the Panthers split with the Huskies.

She nearly repeated the feat in the sixth inning. With two outs and two runners on base, Sevilla hit another deep fly ball, but Pitt’s Vartabedian Field at the Petersen Sports Complex proved too deep as the ball was caught near the wall.

The Panthers finished off the Huskies in the first game by a score of 6-0, but split the doubleheader after losing the second game to Connecticut 10-5 in wet, chilly conditions. Pitt won the third game of the series 1-0 on Sunday.

Pitcher Savannah King, one of Sevilla’s fellow freshmen, said that the Pitt designated hitter has been gaining self-confidence and improving all season.

“We’re best friends and roommates,” King said. “She has a lot of confidence right now, and she’s becoming a really solid hitter.”

Like King — who broke the Pitt school record for wins in a season for a pitcher with the help of Sevilla’s home run against the Huskies — Sevilla grew up in southern California before deciding to play at Pitt.

“I just wanted to get away from California,” the San Diego native said of her decision to play college softball over 2,000 miles away from home. “The campus is beautiful, the city is beautiful and the coaches are awesome. I couldn’t be happier here at Pitt.”

Four Panthers — Sevilla, King, junior catcher Holly Stevens and senior outfielder Yvette Bravo — are originally from the Golden State, but Sevilla said that number might rise with the addition of next year’s recruiting class.

“I think we have a few more California girls joining the program next season,” she said. “You can play softball year-round there, and that develops a lot of talented girls.”

Bravo said that she believes Sevilla’s patience and ability to provide timely hits makes her an important figure in the future of Pitt softball.

“She’s a really clutch hitter. She sees the ball well and gets a lot of walks, and she’s a huge asset to this team,” Bravo said. “She has three more years, too, and she is going to continue to shine.”