The Pitt softball team needed just five innings to capture its first home victory of the… The Pitt softball team needed just five innings to capture its first home victory of the 2005 season at Trees Field. On Friday afternoon, Pitt scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 12-4 victory against St. Francis (Pa.), ending the game early because of the mercy rule.

The Panthers picked up 12 runs on 14 hits after a slow start for a come-from-behind victory. The Red Flash (4-25 overall) took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first with five straight hits off Pitt starter Laura Belardinelli.

Belardinelli buckled down after that half inning, allowing only two more hits and just one additional run. She also recorded three strikeouts, as she pitched all five innings to record her sixth victory of the season.

Second baseman Francesca DiMaria started off Pitt’s offense in the bottom of the first with a lead-off double. Morgan Howard followed with a bunt single to put runners at the corners with no outs.

Howard, baiting the St. Francis defense, attempted to advance to second in order to give DiMaria a shot at stealing home. The Red Flash bit. Howard ran towards second and DiMaria made a charge for home scoring safely for Pitt’s first run, as the defense chose to pick off Howard instead.

“I think the key to that was just executing the play,” head coach Michelle Phalen said. “We did a good job of just taking what they gave us. We just made them execute. We just made them do some things and we were very confident.”

The Panthers once again got their leadoff runner on base in the second inning. Sheena Hellon drew a walk and outfielder Joey Scarf made it safely to first on a throwing error committed by the Red Flash’s third baseman Brianne McCabe.

Scarf, however, tried to get to second on the overthrow and was gunned down for the first out of the inning.

Hellon moved to third on the overthrow and scored on an RBI single by catcher Heather Connor to cut St. Francis’ lead to one.

Pitt’s offense did not stop there. Freshman Valerie Mihalik followed Connor’s single with her first of three hits for the day. Both runners scored two batters later on a base hit by DiMaria to move the score to 4-3 and give the Panthers their first lead of the game.

“It’s like an intangible, the harder you hit the ball you better you feel about it,” Phalen said about hitting. “The more you miss it, the worse you feel. Hitting is contagious.”

St. Francis scored one final run in the top of the third to tie the game at four.

Pitt answered in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of two Red Flash errors to score three runs and take the lead for good.

Pitt scored its final five runs in the fifth inning to cause the eight-run mercy rule to take effect.

The Panthers used offense from multiple players in the fifth to score their game-ending runs. Christa Hunter singled to lead off the inning and freshman Leanne McCarron came in to pinch-run for her. Hellon singled to move McCarron to third and another single by Scarf scored the Panthers’ eighth run.

Hellon and Scarf each advanced a base on a wild pitch and Conner drew a walk to load the bases. Mihalik singled to center field for her third hit of the game and brought home Hellon for Pitt’s ninth run. Kelly Stiles reached base on a two-base error committed by the Red Flash defense, and Scarf and Connor both scored. DiMaria finished things off with her third hit of the game, scoring Mihalik with a single.

“It doesn’t happen very often and when it does, usually it is because something has gone wrong,” Phalen said about winning a game due to the mercy rule. “There’s an injury, major miscues, but it doesn’t happen very often.”