Francesca DiMaria made Panther history this week. She was the first Pitt softball player to… Francesca DiMaria made Panther history this week. She was the first Pitt softball player to ever be named Big East Player of the Week. DiMaria rightfully earned that honor after her performance in Monday’s doubleheader against Rutgers.

For just the second time in school history, the Panthers (14-15 overall, 2-0 Big East) opened conference play 2-0. Pitt never trailed during either contest and won for the eighth time in 10 games.

Pitt 7, Rutgers 4

After a game that was scoreless for three innings, Pitt finally got on the board in the fourth. Senior first baseman Casey Pickard led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Pickard then scored the first run of the game on a passed ball as Christa Hunter drew a walk.

Pitt’s offense continued with shortstop Sheena Hellon reaching base on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on an overthrow by the Scarlet Knights. Joey Scarf followed with a single and Hellon scored on a sacrifice fly by Heather Connor.

The Panthers kept the bats rolling in the fifth, adding two more runs to extend their lead to 4-0. Juniors Jessica Thomas and DiMaria and sophomore Morgan Howard hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases.

“We’ve done a better job of hitting strikes,” head coach Michelle Phalen said, “and we’re swinging at better pitches.”

Rutgers turned up their defense as Casey Pickard came to the plate, turning a double play to get Thomas out at home and Pickard out at first. With two on and two out, Hunter came to the plate and connected for Pitt with a two-run double for the Panthers’ third and fourth runs.

In the bottom of the inning however, the Scarlet Knights battled back with four runs of their own to tie up the game. Hunter, who had started on the mound for Pitt, handed the ball over to sophomore Meghan Bostick to get the final out of the inning and finish the game. Bostick earned the win in relief to move her record to 2-3.

Connor came through big for the Panthers in the sixth inning with a two-run homer to score Scarf, who had just hit a leadoff double. This was Connor’s team-leading third home run of the season and fourth of her career. The Panthers added an insurance run in the seventh when Pickard doubled with one out and scored when Hellon hit a double of her own.

Pitt ended the first game with 13 hits. Scarf had a career-best three hits on the day, while DiMaria, Pickard and Hellon had two hits apiece.

“Rutgers is a good team. They just made a few errors and we capitalized on them,” Phalen added. “We’ve definitely been working hard all year.”

Pitt 4, Rutgers 1

DiMaria went 4-for-4 in Pitt’s second win of the day over the Scarlet Knights. This was the second time in a five-day span that DiMaria tied the school record for hits in a game.

“She’s always been a hard worker,” Phalen said about her junior shortstop. “She’s in a zone right now. She’s hitting the ball hard and it’s finding the holes on the field.”

Also helping the Panthers offensively was Hellon, hitting a leadoff home run in the second. This was her second home run of the season and fifth of her career. Hellon scored later that inning on an RBI single by Thomas.

Pitt starting pitcher Laura Belardinelli kept the Scarlet Knights quiet at the plate, giving up only one run, a solo shot in the sixth and a total of only six hits. The win evened her record at 5-5 for the season and lowered her ERA to 2.52.

DiMaria hit another single in the seventh to give Pitt two more runs. With that hit she moved to 12-for-16 (.750) for the last four games with three runs scored, three RBIs, three doubles and a triple.

The Panthers will continue Big East conference play with their home-opener against St. Francis on Thursday. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. at Trees Field. Notre Dame will travel to Pitt on Saturday for a double-header and Penn State visits on Monday for yet another two-game match up.

“We’ve been on the road all season and we’re all very happy to be home to play,” Phalen said.