Softball: Pitt falls in Big East Championships

For the second consecutive season, the Pitt softball team earned the No. 6 seed in the Big East… For the second consecutive season, the Pitt softball team earned the No. 6 seed in the Big East Championships before falling to the No. 3 seed in its first game of the tournament.

The Panthers fell in a close 2-1 contest to Syracuse in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Louisville, Ky., ending a record-breaking season. This year, the team set program records for wins, home runs and shut-outs, with 34, 51 and 14, respectively.

The senior class also made its contribution to the record books, as it became the all-time winningest class in school history, collecting 117 victories.

Pitt entered the contest having won 10 of its last 12 games. The Panthers started with intensity, scoring the first run in the third inning off an infield base hit from senior Ashley Amistade.

Pitt junior Ciera Damon started the inning by breaking Syracuse pitcher Jenna Caira’s no-hitter with a single. Then Amistade drove in Pinch runner Jessica Rhodunda.

“We knew that we were facing a good pitcher in Caira,” Amistade said. “She has a good change-up that we had to be ready for, and Ciera was able to connect with one on her hit.”

While Damon was aware of Caira’s dominance, she was focused on only her individual at-bat in the third inning.

“I didn’t even know that Caira had not yet given up a hit,” Damon said. “I was just concentrating on my time at the plate and trying to get on base to generate offense.”

The single run almost carried the team to victory, but even the Panther defense and the pitching of senior Alyssa O’Connell couldn’t hold off the Orange offense. Amistade said that protecting a one-run lead is difficult.

“It’s always better to have a lead than to be trailing,” Amistade said. “This time, though, one run just wasn’t enough.”

Head coach Holly Aprile agreed, noting that in a low-scoring game, the margin for error is extremely low.

“Our team is comfortable with a lead, but a 1-0 lead is tough,” Aprile said. “You never want to sit back and be satisfied with that one run and you have to be nearly perfect defensively and from the mound to maintain that lead.”

After three hits and six scoreless innings, the Orange finally found their rhythm against O’Connell and generated two runs in the seventh inning that secured the win and advanced Syracuse in the Big East Championships.

The meeting between the Panthers and the Orange was their first of the year, as the teams didn’t face each other in the 2011 regular season. The Panthers did not consider that worrisome.

“We felt going into this game that we were well-prepared and ready to face any team,” Damon said. “We had a few tough breaks in the seventh, but we played hard.”

Aprile felt that her team executed its game plan well despite the loss and showed improvement from previous seasons.

“For the most part, we were successful in our strategy against Syracuse, getting out to an early lead and playing well defensively,” Aprile said. “It was not quite enough this time, but I think that two or three years ago, just executing the game plan may have been a struggle. This team has a degree of mental toughness that was not present a few years ago.”

Pitt’s five seniors — Amistade, Cory Berliner, O’Connell, Reba Tutt and Ashlyn Zellefrow — helped establish that

toughness. Aprile said the

athletes were great representatives for Pitt.

“Our seniors have contributed so much to the program,” Aprile said. “They’ve all been leaders on the field, in the classroom and in the community. I am extremely proud of all of them and the tone they have set for the future of our program.”

On an individual level, four players received All-Big East honors, the most in program history.

Tutt, junior Kelly Hmiel and sophomore Holly Stevens were named to the second team, and O’Connell earned a place on the third team. Aprile said the selections show that the team’s time and energy paid off.

“We have had a season full of record-breaking performances,” Aprile said. “Four All-Big East selections is a reflection of all the hard work this team has put into this season.”

Aprile has also been a major factor in the team’s success.In her first three seasons as head coach, she became the first Pitt softball coach to record three consecutive winning seasons. She’sollected 87 wins and led the team to two Big East Championship appearances.

Still, the bar for the 2012 squad is set even higher, as Aprile and the Panthers look to build from recent success and attain even greater goals.The Panthers will return Hmiel and Stevens next season, along with starting infielders Kristen Cheesebrew and Niki Cognigni. Karlyn Jones returns for the pitching rotation after finishing the year with a team-leading 1.57 ERA and an 8-5 record.

Aprile said the team will continue to have high expectations.

“The program is on the upswing, and we are looking to be at the top of our conference in the coming years,” Aprile said. “We are headed in the right direction.”