Hunter pitches five-hit shutout

Christa Hunter readied herself at the plate, loosening and tightening her grip on the bat… Christa Hunter readied herself at the plate, loosening and tightening her grip on the bat before hitting a high fly to deep center field. Quietly, the ball made its way over the fence at Trees Field for a solo home run.

Her solo shot sparked the offense in the second inning of Pitt’s 4-0 shutout win in the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader against Robert Morris.

“I was not positive because it was so high,” head coach Michelle Phalen said of the hit, “but I had a feeling it was going to go out. She smacked it.”

Hunter, however, had a different outlook on the fact that her fourth home run of the season was not a fast-flying smash.

“A home run is a home run,” she said. “It’s a run, that’s all that matters.”

Five batters later, Jessica Dignon singled off Colonial pitcher Erica Riggle, sending Joey Scarf and Sheena Hellon home to give the Panthers (18-22 overall) a 3-0 lead.

Pitt tacked on one more run in the second when Morgan Howard dropped a single into left field, scoring Kelly Stiles.

The Panthers had an opportunity in the fourth inning to blow the game wide open, with the bases loaded and no outs.

Francesca DiMaria singled in between two errors by the Colonials (15-19-1) that allowed Dignon and Howard to reach base safely.

Riggle battled back, sending the heart of Pitt’s lineup back to the dugout. She got Casey Pickard and Scarf to pop out and Hunter to strike out. In Hunter’s at-bat, she narrowly missed a grand slam, hitting a ball deep to left field that hooked just left of the foul pole.

The extra runs were not needed, however, as Hunter took command of the game from the mound, holding Robert Morris to five hits in the contest and striking out three. Hunter used drop-ball pitches to go after the Colonial batters.

“She just goes right at you with her pitches,” Phalen said.

Hunter was appreciative of her teammates’ support on the field, especially when she found herself pitching to the tying run in the top of the seventh.

“My defense definitely helped me out a lot,” she said.

With one out on in the inning, Robert Morris’ Brandi Doerschner loaded the bases with a ground ball that hit off of Hunter’s foot. Doerschner reached first base safely, placing the pressure on Pitt’s defense. Both Keri Meyer and Jill Dorsch were on base after Meyer led off with a double and Dorsch was walked.

Riggle, who had pitched the prior six innings, could not prevent herself from being tagged with the loss. She hit a ground ball that was fielded quickly and tossed home for the force out.

Hunter settled in to pitch to pinch hitter Camille Kline with the stereotypical baseball movie theme: three balls, two strikes, two outs and the bases loaded. And just like the theatrical versions, she threw a pitch past the swinging bat of Kline to end the game.

“It was a good win for the team,” Hunter said.