Youth steps up for Pitt softball

For the Pitt softball team so far this season, youth has contributed more at the plate than… For the Pitt softball team so far this season, youth has contributed more at the plate than experience. Three freshmen ‘- Niki Cognigni, Yvette Bravo and Kristen Cheesebrew ‘- all put together solid performances at the plate in the Panthers’ three wins over the weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas. During Pitt’s last game against Texas A’amp;M on Sunday the three went a combined 7 for 10 hitting with three RBIs and three runs scored. Pitt won the game 7-0. ‘I am extremely proud of our freshmen so far,’ said Pitt coach Hollie Aprile. ‘[Bravo] has just been awesome at the plate, drawing a ton of walks. Cognigni and Cheesebrew have really been holding it down in the infield.’ The pitching was superb in the wins. Aprile said that her pitchers were the players who impressed her the most over the weekend. Junior Kayla Zinger, sophomore Cory Berliner and sophomore Alyssa O’Connell both pitched complete games in the wins. In the 6-1 win over Dayton on Friday, Berliner struck out nine batters. ‘Our pitching has kept us in every game so far this season,’ said Aprile. ‘Pitching is the key to success for every team.’ But Pitt (4-6) also lost two games over the weekend. The team had just one hit total in those two games. ‘The hitting is contagious,’ said Aprile. ‘When our top hitters are struggling, our team starts pressing, and it makes it that much harder for everybody else to get hits.’ Aprile said she is neither happy nor disappointed with her team’s showing last weekend. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s early in the season,’ said Aprile. ‘But the last game we hit much better, so I definitely think we are coming around with that.’ The Panthers will travel to Birmingham, Ala. next weekend for four matchups.