Panthers win but miss Big East Tournament

Despite finishing off the regular season with a victory, the Pitt softball team failed to… Despite finishing off the regular season with a victory, the Pitt softball team failed to qualify for the Big East tournament in Louisville, Ky.

The Panthers finished in 10th place in the Big East, with an overall record of 25-24 and a Big East record of 9-15. The top eight teams qualify for the tournament.

Pitt finished the season at home with doubleheaders against Rutgers and South Florida, splitting with both teams.

The last four games sum up what Pitt coach Holly Aprile said the Panthers have struggled with all year: consistency. The young team found it difficult to find a steady level of success, particularly on the offensive end.

Pittsburgh 3, Rutgers 0

Pittsburgh 5, Rutgers 6

In the first game against Rutgers, freshman infielders Kristen Cheesebrew and Niki Cognigni each supplied two hits as the Panthers defeated the Scarlet Knights 3-0. The win was Pitt’s seventh shutout of the season. Cheesebrew and Cognigni improved throughout the season, Aprile said, making them solid defensive forces in the key positions of second base and shortstop.

The Panthers played solid defense like they had throughout the season. In the second inning, the Panthers stranded two Scarlet Knights on base after forcing sequential ground balls. Back-to-back plays at home plate off-throws from Reba Tutt and Cognigni kept Rutgers from getting on the board in the sixth inning.

Pitcher Cory Berliner picked up her third shutout of the season, striking out four batters while sealing her ninth victory.

“Pitching has been a strength all season, and we have also been pretty strong defensively,” Aprile said.

In the second game, the Panthers fell to Rutgers 6-5.

A game-tying, three-run homerun by Tutt at the bottom of the seventh sent the game into extra innings. Rutgers scored a run in the top of the eighth inning, winning the game after the Panthers failed to answer.

Pittsburgh 4, South Florida 9

Pittsburgh 8, South Florida 0

Pitt seniors Sam Card and Kaitlyn Schuster were honored before the South Florida doubleheader. Card and Schuster guided the Panthers to three consecutive Big Easttournament appearances and 103 wins. Those victories make them the winningest senior class in Pitt history.

Schuster, a pitcher, and Card, a catcher, have achieved several single-season Pitt records.

But with only two seniors on the squad, the Panthers were a young team this season. Aprile said the youth created a learning curve and that the season of experience has helped he Panthers improve and should aid the younger players next year.

“We’ve gotten better at communicating on the field,” Aprile said. “We’ve matured overall and [the freshmen] have definitely grown from [experience].”

Pitt held an advantage twice in the first game against South Florida. In the bottom of the first inning, Cognigni drove in two runs to give the Panthers a 2-0 advantage. Three innings later, Cognigni drove in another run to give the Panthers a 4-3 lead.

But the Panthers wouldn’t score again as the Bulls scored five runs in the sixth and seventh innings to seal their 9-4 victory.

In the second game, the Panthers earned their second shutout in four games and their eighth in the season. The Panthers mercy-ruled the Bulls in five innings, winning their final game of the season 8-0.

Freshman Amanda Heitmeier went 3-3 and drove in two of Pitt’s four runs in the contest. Pitcher Kayla Zinger picked up the victory, while allowing six hits and picking up one strikeout.