Card and Dignon seem to dictate in doubleheaders

As the Pitt softball team began Big East play over the weekend, it went as Sam Card and… As the Pitt softball team began Big East play over the weekend, it went as Sam Card and Jessica Dignon went.

The junior catcher and senior third baseman led the Panthers (15-12, 3-1 Big East) while sweeping a doubleheader against Villanova Saturday and splitting a doubleheader against Rutgers Sunday.

In the three wins, the two went a combined 9-16, hitting three home runs and driving in eight runs, as well as drawing four walks.

In the Panthers’ lone loss the two went 0-6 and didn’t reach base at all.

Pitt is on the road for a doubleheader on Wednesday at Akron before returning home for doubleheaders against Big East foes Connecticut on Saturday and Providence on Sunday.

Pitt 7, Villanova 3

In the Panthers’ Big East opener, they took the lead in the top of the first inning and never relinquished it.

Dignon drove in freshman Ashley Amistade, who walked and stole second, for the game’s first run.

Card was then hit by a pitch, moving Dignon up to second.

She was driven in by senior Mary Hecker to give Pitt a 2-0 lead.

Amistade was responsible for the next two Panther runs, singling in Alicia Broudy in the second and scoring on a wild pitch in the fifth.

In the sixth, Amistade scored on a double by Dignon, who then scored on a home run by Card to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.

Starting pitcher Cory Berliner saw no problems through the first five innings, shutting out the Wildcats (8-12, 1-3 Big East) while allowing only one hit.

But Villanova received some help from the Panther defense in the sixth inning. Three errors led to a two-run double by Meghan Morese and an RBI-single by Jess O’Boyle.

Pitt held on, and Berliner won her eighth game of the season, finishing with six and two-third innings pitched, striking out seven while giving up three hits and three runs, all unearned.

Pitt 1, Villanova 0

Card scored the lone Panther run on a single in the fourth inning by Megan Livesey.

Kayla Zinger improved to 5-5 on the year, earning the victory but not without a few threats.

In the first inning, three singles with two outs loaded the bases for Villanova, but Zinger got the next batter to ground out to the shortstop to strand all three runners.

Runners were left on first and third in the bottom of the sixth after Zinger got O’Boyle to pop out to end the inning.

The Wildcats also wasted a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh.

Pitt 9, Rutgers 3

Both Dignon and Card homered in the first game against the Scarlet Knights (11-17, 1-3 Big East).

With the score tied at two in the sixth inning, Zinger singled to drive in Dignon and Card for the win.

The Panthers added five runs in the seventh inning to increase the lead, with Dignon’s homer driving in three of those runs.

Berliner pitched all seven innings, giving up three runs on nine hits, while striking out six.

Rutgers 3, Pitt 1

A scoreless game heading into the bottom of the fourth, Rutgers was the first to get on the board.

Back-to-back singles and an error placed runners on second and third with two outs. A single then drove in one run to give Rutgers the lead, albeit a short-lived one.

In the top of the fifth inning, Amistade drove in Rebecca Stottlemyer to tie the game.

The Scarlet Knights answered back with two runs in the bottom of the inning and held on for the lead.

Zinger took the loss, pitching six innings and giving up three runs on eight hits.