Pitt softball stumbles to five losses in a row

Mike Freiberg For The Pitt News

Flashes of last year’s record-breaking 32-27 season were… Mike Freiberg For The Pitt News

Flashes of last year’s record-breaking 32-27 season were few and far between as the Pitt softball team took the field for the first time in 2007.

The Panthers kicked off play with a trip to Boca Raton, Fla., for the Florida Atlantic University Miken Invitational Feb. 9.

According to Pitt head coach Michelle Phalen, the Panthers struggled at the plate and left runners in scoring position at inopportune times. This led to Pitt dropping all five of its games in the tournament, slumping to a .178 team batting average for the weekend.

“Our hitting was nonexistent in most of the games, and our base running was poor,” Phalen said.

Pitt was shut out by South Carolina, Central Florida and Florida Atlantic, slapping nine hits in the three games. Games against North Florida and Miami (Ohio) were closer, but the Panthers’ missed opportunities cost them.

“We had a bad weekend and didn’t do a lot of things right,” Phalen said. “We got better as the weekend went on but were still not very sharp in many areas of our game.”

South Carolina 3, Pitt 0

The Panthers came out of the gates strong with a pair of singles from Sheena Hellen and Joey Scarf in the first inning. But Pitt wasn’t able to capitalize with runners in scoring position and was held hitless for the rest of the game.

The Gamecocks scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning with a single up the middle and added to their lead in the third inning and again in the fifth.

Panther starting pitcher Kayla Zinger struck out four batters and surrendered three runs in her Pitt debut.

North Florida 5, Pitt 3

Despite late-inning heroics, Pitt was unable to overcome a five-run deficit against the Lady Ospreys.

North Florida struck early and often, recording four runs in the first two innings as the Panther hitting drought continued. The Lady Ospreys added their fifth run off a wild pitch in the fifth inning.

Senior Joey Scarf started the Pitt rally in the sixth, reaching base on an error by North Florida’s shortstop. After Jessica Dignon’s double moved Scarf to third, freshman Alex Shoemaker crushed a home run to end the scoring drought. The three-run round-tripper made the score 5-3.

Singles by Mary Hecker, Sheena Hellon and Morgan Howard loaded Pitt’s bases in the final inning, but they were stranded. The Panthers failed to get the ball out of the infield before North Florida could get the final out.

Central Florida 2, Pitt 0

The Panthers didn’t get the rebound game they were looking for as UCF held Pitt to three hits.

Pitt had a chance to score early, but pinch runner Rebecca Stottlemeyer was thrown out trying to finagle third base on a Heather Connor double.

The Golden Knights got on the board with some trickery in the third inning. With runners on first and third, they perfectly executed a double steal to take the lead. They added another later in the inning on a fielder’s choice.

The freshman Zinger (0-2) struck out three and gave up two hits.

Florida Atlantic 3, Pitt 0

The Panthers loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, but FAU turned a double play when Shoemaker attempted to tag up from second on a fly out to right field.

FAU took an early lead in the top of the second and added more in the third with a two-run home run over the center field wall.

Pitt did not put a runner in scoring position after the second inning.

Pitching mistakes led to FAU adding two more in the fifth.

Miami (Ohio) 5, Pitt 4

A Shoemaker single put the Panthers on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning. After the run scored, Hellon tried to score from second, but was tossed out at the plate.

In the seventh inning, with Howard on second and two outs, Dignon ripped a single to score Howard and tie the score, 3-3.

The teams traded runs in the eighth inning, but Miami (Ohio) was able to score the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning.

With the bases loaded and one out, Dignon hit into a fielder’s choice that forced the runner out at home plate. Pitt grounded out to end the threat and the game.

Zinger pitched a 5 2/3 innings in relief, giving up two hits.

The Panthers left 11 runners on base in the game.