Break out the brooms: Pitt swept

It was a cold day for the Panthers last weekend.

Pitt softball lost a doubleheader on its… It was a cold day for the Panthers last weekend.

Pitt softball lost a doubleheader on its home field to the Syracuse Orange Saturday.

Pitt head coach Michelle Phalen said some things went well and others didn’t, but her Panthers have the capability of doing much better.

“We had a couple good innings, we had a couple bad innings,” Phalen said. “The weather was miserable, but Syracuse did a great job and kept getting base runners on. They scored when they could, while we had a lot of opportunities to score that we didn’t capitalize on.” Phalen is looking forward to this weekend when Pitt will face South Florida, which is 31-19 and 3-3 in the Big East and has been tough-but beatable-competition for the Panthers in the past.

“We’ll face Youngstown State in a doubleheader this week, and they’ll be a good challenge before the weekend,” Phalen said. “We’re very excited to play, despite the weather the last couple of weeks. It’ll be nice to get out. We’re looking forward to having South Florida here on Friday.”

Syracuse 7, Pitt 5

The Panthers led 3-2 heading into the fourth inning. But the fifth inning proved devastating to their efforts. A Panther error and five hits from Syracuse put the Orange ahead.

Syracuse scored the first two runs of the game, one in the second inning and one in the third, but the Panthers came into the lead in the fourth inning.

With two outs, Pitt junior Mary Hecker slapped a pinch-hit, two-run single up the middle.

In the same inning, Pitt junior Jessica Dignon hit a ball deep to right center field, where it was dropped by an Orange outfielder. Howard scored on the play, making the score 3-2 Panthers.

After the disastrous fifth inning, the Panthers scored two runs in the sixth. Dignon tallied another RBI on a single to right field. Senior Joey Scarf then hit a sacrifice groundball to send junior Rebecca Stottlemyer home.

The Orange scored one more insurance run to push ahead, 7-5.

Senior Meghan Bostick started for Pitt and fell to 4-6. She gave up two runs on three hits.

Syracuse 10, Pitt 5

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader Card continued her hot streak, collecting 3 RBIs.

Freshman Kayla Zinger took the ball for Pitt, giving up five runs and seven hits in her three innings. Senior Laura Belardinelli came on in relief and gave up five runs and eight hits.

“We had some defensive breakdowns, and the pitching was a little sporadic,” Phalen said. “I just honestly think that we cut it back defensively, and we need to work on that. I’m very happy with the hitting performance though.”

Syracuse tallied seven runs in the first five innings. It scored three runs off four hits in the third inning and followed with two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.

The Panthers almost scored in the fourth, but two players were left on base. Both Card and Alex Shoemaker advanced on a two-out passed ball, but their teammates were unable to send them home.

Finally in the fifth, Card’s three-run double to right field put the Panthers on the board, giving Card six doubles this season.

The Panthers scored two runs in the sixth inning as senior Joey Scarf hit a two-out single, plating Howard. Senior Sheena Hellon then hit Dignon home with a single to left field.

Syracuse managed to score one more in the sixth and two in the seventh for the win.

The Panthers are now 14-25 and 2-7 in the Big East.