In seven years of Big East play, the Pitt softball team has never entered postseason play. A… In seven years of Big East play, the Pitt softball team has never entered postseason play. A single win in last Friday’s doubleheader would have changed all of that and propelled the team to the conference tournament as the fourth seed.

A shaky offense and a few clutch Wildcat home runs paved the way for a Villanova sweep, however, knocking Pitt out of postseason contention and ending the Panthers’ season.

Villanova 9, Pitt 0

The Panther defense fell apart early as Villanova used an eight-run second inning to beat Pitt 9-0. The Wildcats needed just five innings to take game one of the crucial Big East doubleheader, ending the game by mercy rule.

Pitt’s starting pitcher, Christa Hunter, lasted just 1.2 innings, giving up five hits, three walks and five Wildcat runs. Sophomore Laura Belardinelli came in as relief with two outs in the second inning, but did not fare any better.

Villanova right fielder Allie Wisniewski came to the plate and connected for a grand slam. With just one mighty swing, she earned more runs than the whole Panther team did in both games. She finished 2-for-3 with five RBIs in the first game.

Pitt didn’t help itself by stranding runners and wasting scoring chances. Senior Casey Pickard reached base in the first inning with a single, but was stranded when the Panther offense failed to capitalize. Likewise, freshman Jessica Dignon stepped to the plate in the second and smashed a double past the Wildcat defenders but was also left on base, seeing the Panthers’ best scoring chance for the game go by the wayside.

Villanova 5, Pitt 3

The Panthers got on the board early in game two and shutout the Wildcats until the bottom of the fourth inning, but couldn’t hold on in a 5-3 season-ending loss.

Pitt scored the first three runs of the game to get the offense started quickly. With one out in the first inning, Morgan Howard ran all the way to second on a two-base error and scored on a double by Casey Pickard, the lone Panther senior playing her final game.

The score remained 1-0 until the top of the fourth inning when the Panthers scored two more runs to extend the lead. Like the first inning, the Panthers got their offense rolling with one out. Sophomore outfielder Joey Scarf drew a walk off the Wildcats’ pitcher and then moved to second on a sacrifice by Dignon and eventually to third with her fourth stolen base of the season.

With two outs and one on, sophomore catcher Heather Connor stepped to the plate and sent the ball over the wall for her fifth home run of the season for a 3-0 score. Connor finished tied with Christa Hunter to lead the team with five home runs apiece for the season.

Although things were looking to play out in the Panthers’ favor this time around, that all changed in the bottom of the fifth inning when Villanova took control. Belardinelli, who started game two on the mound for Pitt, held strong until the fourth inning when the Wildcats narrowed the Panthers’ lead by a run.

Villanova came back in the fifth, hungry for more runs. Wildcat first baseman Kari Koller stepped to the plate and blasted a three-run homer off Belardinelli. Those three runs would turn out to be the difference in the game.

Pitt, like it had in game one, failed to capitalize on offense and left two runners stranded on second and third in the top of the seventh, the Panthers’ last chance at turning the game around.

Villanova (38-23 overall, 10-8 Big East) out hit the Panthers 10 to five in game two en route to clinching the tournament’s fourth seed. Pitt ended its season at 23-29 overall and 8-8 in the conference. With its tournament hopes officially deflated, Pitt’s doubleheader against St. John’s two days later was canceled.

Editor’s Note: Head coach Michelle Phalen could not be reached for comment on these games.