Softball breaks school record

The Pitt softball team combined tremendous pitching and a little timely hitting to sweep St…. The Pitt softball team combined tremendous pitching and a little timely hitting to sweep St. Francis (Pa.) in its Wednesday afternoon doubleheader. The Panthers did not allow the Red Flash to score a single run in either game. The wins give Pitt (26-17 overall, 7-5 Big East) a new school record for wins in a season.

Pitt 2, St. Francis (Pa.) 0

Starting pitcher Megan Bostick went all seven innings and recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts to record her third shutout of the season as the Panthers squeaked by St. Francis 2-0.

The victory broke the team’s former record of 24 wins set back in 2003.

Pitt struck first in the third inning. With one out and the bases empty, Morgan Howard successfully bunted to third base for a single.

In the ensuing at bat, Howard stole second base and advanced to third on a Francesca DiMaria single to right field. DiMaria then induced a wild throw from the catcher on her attempted steal of second base to bring home Howard for the game’s first run.

The Red Flash did give Pitt a scare in the fourth inning. Richele Hall led off the inning with a left-field single. Nicole Waligora followed up with a double to the left-field corner to advance Hall to third.

With runners on second and third and no outs, Bostick induced a groundout to shortstop Sheena Hellon to hold both runners from advancing. The next batter struck out and left fielder Joey Scarf snared a hard line drive to end the inning and keep St. Francis scoreless.

Senior Christa Hunter launched her sixth home run of the season in the top of the seventh to give the Panthers some breathing room and Bostick made quick work of the Red Flash in the bottom of the inning to seal the victory.

Pitt 8, St. Francis (Pa.) 0

Pitt made a little more history as they tied or broke several school records in their game-two victory over the Red Flash.

Junior pitcher Laura Belardinelli worked a complete six-inning game while allowing only six hits to earn her 12th win of the season. She is now second on Pitt’s all-time single-season win list.

Hellon stole her 19th base of the season in the second inning. With the swipe, Pitt now has 63 steals on the season to top the former team-high mark of 62 set back in 2003. Hellon also moved to second place on Pitt’s individual single-season steal list.

With the score at 2-0, the Panthers added six runs in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.

Sheena Hellon opened the inning with a single into left field. Heather Connor then reached first on a fielder’s choice. After a sacrifice bunt and a strikeout, Lisa McGregor recorded a pinch-hit single for Morgan Howard to bring home both base runners.

Francesca DiMaria followed with a double and Joey Scarf singled to add two more runs. Jessica Dignon then extended the inning with a two-run home run as Pitt increased their lead to 8-0.

Belardinelli allowed only one hit in the bottom of the frame to close the door on St. Francis.

The Panthers improved their team batting average to .270. If they can manage to continue their hot hitting, they would also eclipse the current team-record of .252 set by last year’s squad.

Pitt will look to add to its record win total this Saturday in a doubleheader with the Syracuse Orange in Syracuse, N.Y.

The Panthers swept the Orange last season in two meetings between the clubs.

On Wednesday, Syracuse (22-15, 10-2 Big East) recorded a doubleheader sweep of 25th-ranked DePaul. With the Orange currently leading the Big East conference in wins and Pitt tied for second with seven, the meeting could have strong postseason implications.

The first game will start at noon.