Panthers hit two in game two

It was a role reversal in the top of the seventh that gave Robert Morris a 2-1 win in game… It was a role reversal in the top of the seventh that gave Robert Morris a 2-1 win in game two of yesterday’s softball doubleheader at Trees Field.

“Our defense has been clutch for us all year,” starting Panther pitcher Laura Belardinelli said. “But today, the reverse happened to us. Robert Morris made the big play at the end.”

The big play she spoke of was a double play in the bottom of the seventh that Christa Hunter hit into. With Casey Pickard on first and Morgan Howard on second, Hunter grounded to the third baseman, who quickly stepped on third and threw to first for the third and final out of the inning.

The Colonials tallied the go-ahead run in the top half of the seventh thanks to an error by Pitt shortstop Sheena Hellon. Robert Morris’ Crystal Herman grounded to Hellon, who bobbled the ball and had no chance to throw Herman out at first.

Keri Meyer — who doubled earlier in the game and scored the Colonials’ first run — hit a single to move Herman to second.

Kali Byers then hit a grounder up the middle to score Herman from second and give Robert Morris the one-run lead. Belardinelli struck out the next batter and got the final two to each ground into a fielder’s choice. The sophomore finished with seven strikeouts, allowing the two runs on seven hits — both of which were unearned.

Robert Morris’ starting pitcher, Danielle Cohen, held Pitt to only two hits, with the majority of Pitt’s offensive threats coming off the five walks she issued and the two batters she hit in the game. She also struck out eight batters — most coming at crucial times.

In the bottom of the second, after allowing Pitt tie the game at one, Cohen struck out the top of Pitt’s batting order, Francesca DiMaria and Howard, to end the inning, leaving three base runners stranded.

The Panthers did the same in the fifth inning. After Cohen loaded the bases for the Panthers, issuing two walks and hitting a batter, Pitt failed to get a hit in the inning and the 1-1 tie remained intact.

“We just didn’t hit the ball,” head coach Michelle Phalen said after the game.

Not only did Pitt have trouble at the plate, but they also struggled in the field, committing three errors in the game.

“We have too many errors,” Phalen said. “Obviously, if you make errors and you’re not hitting, you’re not winning.”

Despite the errors, Pitt played some great defense in the game at one point, keeping the Colonials from scoring a single run in the top of the fifth when they had the bases loaded with no outs.

Hellon scooped up two ground balls from the next two batters and tossed to home for the force-out on both plays, keeping the score knotted at one.

“Those are clutch plays, and those are the plays we have to make,” Phalen said. “Sheena came up with some great plays.”

Belardinelli took care of the rest, striking out Brandi Doerschner. She said after the game that she felt fine on the mound and that she was forced into giving Robert Morris good pitches after falling behind on some counts.

“Overall, I was happy with how I performed,” Belardinelli said. “I gave it my best effort, and today it fell short.”

Pitt will look to put the non-conference loss behind them as Seton Hall and St. John’s both come to Trees Field for doubleheaders over the weekend. The doubleheader against Seton Hall is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Saturday and the matchup with St. John’s is slated for an 11 a.m. start the next day.