Softball: Panthers take doubleheader from St. John’s

Even though rain caused the cancellation of the final game in the series, it didn’t stop the… Even though rain caused the cancellation of the final game in the series, it didn’t stop the Pitt softball team from picking up two victories over Big East rival St. John’s in Thursday’s doubleheader.

The Panthers (28-14, 7-6 Big East) boosted their conference record above .500 by defeating the Red Storm (19-26, 6-9 Big East) with scores of 6-5 and 8-1.

Pitt 6, St. John’s 5

Senior Reba Tutt tied the single-season record for triples with her fifth of the year, and the Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead after four innings.

The Panthers used four extra-base hits, including junior Kelly Hmiel’s 11th home run of the year and Tutt’s triple. Tutt currently sits in second place for career triples with 13 and leads the team in total extra-base hits with 24 on the year.

Head coach Holly Aprile said she was pleased with her team’s performance at the plate, especially in the opening innings.

“We hit the ball hard as a team, which is important,” Aprile said after the game. “We started early with a lot of energy.”

The Red Storm seemed to find their energy as the game progressed, scoring two earned runs in the fourth and then adding three unearned runs in the sixth inning thanks to two Panthers errors.

But the Panthers managed to hold off the Red Storm offense as senior pitcher Cory Berliner closed out the game in the seventh and recorded her ninth win of the season.

“Cory pitched well, even though the 6-5 score may not indicate that,” Aprile said of her starting pitcher. “She worked ahead of the batters and was able to finish the game strong.”

For Aprile, the score of the game was closer than it should have been.

“We made some uncharacteristic errors late in the game that made the score tighter than we would have liked,” she said. “However, we made the necessary adjustments to secure the win.”

Although the sixth inning infield errors resulted in three runs for St. John’s, the outstanding defensive efforts of junior second baseman Kristen Cheesebrew prevented the Red Storm from taking the lead.

“Kristen was excellent in the infield and made two great diving plays,” Aprile said. “One play stopped a run from scoring and the other ended an inning.”

Pitt 8, St. John’s 1

Tutt led the Panthers with three hits, three runs scored and two RBIs as the Panthers made the proper adjustments in the batter’s box to defeat St. John’s 8-1.

“In the first game, the St. John’s pitchers were having trouble finding the plate, so we made sure we were patient in the next game, waiting to drive a good pitch,” Aprile said.

In the sixth inning, Pitt posted seven runs, two coming from Tutt’s double which drove in junior Jessica Rhodunda and freshman Courtney Derus.

Pitcher Alyssa O’Connell struck out 10 batters in her 11th victory of the season.

“Alyssa did a good job of painting the corners and hitting her spots,” Aprile said following the win. “She and [catcher] Holly Stevens worked well together and kept the batters off balance.”

O’Connell said that teamwork with her catcher is essential in a successful outing.

“After we face a batter once, Holly [Aprile] and I talk about what pitches to go through once they come to the plate again,” O’Connell said. “It is a learning process and it requires focusing on each pitch and each individual batter.”

She also acknowledged the necessity of a productive offense and its effects on the team mentality.

“It was important that we come off of a close game early in the day and not sit back in this second game,” O’Connell said. “We came out hard with a lot of heart and effort and we were able to score early and put the game away.”

The momentum from the doubleheader could not help complete the three-game series sweep as inclement weather prevented play on Saturday. But the Panthers hope to continue their success as they return home to face Rutgers next weekend.