Panthers win 3 of 4 over weekend

In two home doubleheaders over the weekend against two Big East opponents, Pitt softball saw… In two home doubleheaders over the weekend against two Big East opponents, Pitt softball saw only one loss and won every other game by shutouts.

In the first Saturday matchup, the team fell to Connecticut, 8-3, but triumphed over the Huskies and the Providence Friars the rest of the weekend.

“The girls came up with some hits when they needed to, and we put some pressure on them,” Pitt coach Michele Phalen said. “But it was just we had some kids who came up and did a great job.

“We had some really, really good pitching this weekend, and we made some really outstanding defensive plays. The pitching and the defense was what really came out this weekend and gave us our wins.”

The Panthers ended their weekend 20-13 and 6-2 in the Big East.

They play twice today at Penn State, then travel to Tampa, Fla., for their next Big East matchup against the South Florida Bulls.

Connecticut 8, Pitt 3

The Panthers didn’t see any runs until the seventh inning against Connecticut on Saturday afternoon but managed to prevent a shutout when freshman Reba Tutt knocked in a three-run home run.

Tutt went 2 for 4 on the day with her home run marking her second homer and 11th RBI of the year. Senior Jessica Dignon went 2 for 3.

Freshman pitcher Cory Berliner gave up 11 hits but notched a career-tying 10 strikeouts to kick off the long weekend.

Pitt 1, Connecticut 0

In the first of three shutouts, sophomore Kayla Zinger pitched her first no-hitter on Saturday.

It was Pitt’s first no-hitter since 2003, and Zinger became the fourth in Panther history to earn it in a seven-inning game. Tutt was again successful on the offense for Pitt, as she walked with the bases loaded in the first inning. Senior Mary Hecker counted the run, which was her eighth of the season. Pitt has scored in the first inning nine times this season.

Pitt 3, Providence 0

Berliner notched her third shutout of the season and upped her record to 11-6, tying for third on the single-season wins list with Laura Belardinelli in 2004.

The Panthers scored their first run in the fourth inning when junior Samantha Card earned her eighth home run of the season.

She ties former Panther Jacki Haar for fourth place in best single-season home runs.

Card now ranks fifth on the list of all-time Panthers with 14 homers in her career.

In the sixth inning, Pitt added two more runs off of a hit by Mollie Illenberger, who boasts a 0.429 batting average on the season.

She notched a single RBI over the third baseman’s head to bring in Dignon and Card.

Card was 2 for 3 in Sunday’s first game.

On defense, senior Rebecca Stottlemyer ran in from right field to make a nice catch on a shallow fly ball for the third out in the first inning.

Later on, Card assisted Broudy at first when she stopped a Providence bunt in the fifth.

Third baseman Megan Livesey took the second out at first on a groundball, stopping the runner at second. With another hit and bases loaded, Tutt caught a fly ball for the third out.

Pitt 1, Providence 0

Zinger again came through on the mound for the Panthers on Sunday with her second shutout of the weekend and the 10th of the season for Pitt.

Zinger’s record advanced to 8-6 on the mound, and she allowed just two hits.

Pitt’s defense again helped its game when senior Kelly Stiles caught a line drive in the third inning, stopping a runner on both third and first.

Offensively, Dignon again came through sailing a lead-off home run into center field in the fourth inning. It was her fifth of the season, a career-high, and her 97th career run. She went 2 for 3 on the day.