Softball swept away by Irish

Saturday afternoon, the Pitt softball team attempted to do something it has never done before:… Saturday afternoon, the Pitt softball team attempted to do something it has never done before: defeat Notre Dame. In the prior 12 meetings between the two schools, the Fighting Irish had captured all 12 victories.

The Panthers (15-17 overall, 2-2 Big East) could not find an offensive rhythm and dropped both games of the doubleheader to Notre Dame (24-8, 4-0) at Trees Field, unable to break the losing streak.

Notre Dame 7, Pitt 2

Lisa McGregor stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and Pitt down by seven runs. Teammate Heather Connor had just reached base via a walk, one of only two allowed by Notre Dame pitcher Steffany Stenglein, and eagerly waited for McGregor to follow suit and reach base.

With one powerful swing, McGregor sent the ball soaring deep over the left field wall for her first home run of the season. These, however, were the only runs Pitt would score in both games on Saturday.

Strong pitching from the Irish kept the Panthers at bay. Stenglein pitched the complete seven-inning game, striking out 12 of the 27 batters she faced and allowing only four hits.

“You have to hand it to them, Notre Dame has very good pitchers, but we also gave them a lot more than we should have,” second baseman Francesca DiMaria said. “I think we should have been more aggressive in our at bats. Nothing you can do about it now but learn from it.”

In the bottom of the fifth, after Notre Dame had extended its lead to 4-0 in the top half of the inning, the Panthers looked to counter. Stenglein had a different idea and, pitching with confidence, struck out the side.

“Notre Dame is a good team. They’re always going to come out and take it to you. So, I think we have to get ourselves in check offensively and defensively,” Phalen said. “We can play with them. We just did a very poor job at the plate.”

In the sixth, the Fighting Irish added two more runs on the board to push the score to 6-0 when left fielder Kellie Middleton lined a two-run single into left-center field.

Senior Casey Pickard, in the bottom half of the sixth, came close to breaking the shutout, as she hit a deep fly ball to center field that just missed clearing the fence. Instead of the full four-base trek, she ran into second with a stand-up double. Stenglein, however, kept Pickard from scoring by striking out Christa Hunter to end the inning.

Hunter pitched a complete game for Pitt, allowing 11 hits and seven runs to move her record to 7-8 for the season. Not only was Pitt unable to muster any offense, but the Panther defense also committed five errors throughout the game, which led to three unearned Irish runs.

Norte Dame 6, Pitt 0

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Pitt had a golden opportunity to do some damage on the scoreboard. DiMaria singled to start the inning off. Morgan Howard followed, reaching base on an errant throw by Notre Dame. The ball rolled out of play, allowing both runners to advance an extra base.

Pickard drew a walk from Fighting Irish pitcher Heather Booth — just one of two walks she allowed on the day, to load the bases. The next two batters, Hunter and Sheena Hellon, both fanned at the plate to account for two of Booth’s 12 strikeouts. Joey Scarf then grounded out harmlessly to end the inning and the Panthers’ momentum.

“We didn’t even put the ball in play. We sort of got tight,” Phalen said. “If we were going to get back in that game and make a charge for it that was it. We needed to do something then.”

Pitt managed just two hits in its second loss on Saturday, as the Fighting Irish rolled to a 6-0 victory. Pitcher Laura Belardinelli threw five innings for the Panthers, recording the loss to even her record at 6-6 for the season. Sophomore Meghan Bostick entered as relief in the sixth, allowing just one run on three hits. She struck out one and walked one.

The Panthers will be back in action on Wednesday in a doubleheader against Penn State. The first game is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. at Tress Field. Pitt will then travel to Connecticut and Providence this weekend to continue Big East conference play.

Phalen is excited for the upcoming doubleheader against Penn State.

“We didn’t play the way we are capable today,” she said of Saturday’s play, “but I think if the fans come out against Penn State, and then we have two great Big East weekends coming up that they will see some good ball.”