Pitt softball missed great opportunity

Having never beaten Notre Dame in softball, Pitt found itself in familiar territory in the… Having never beaten Notre Dame in softball, Pitt found itself in familiar territory in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Unlike previous meetings, however, the Panthers had a golden opportunity this time around.

Francesca DiMaria singled up the middle. Morgan Howard bunted to advance DiMaria, but a throwing error moved Howard to second and DiMaria to third. Notre Dame ace Heather Booth then walked senior Casey Pickard to load the bases.

Suddenly, Pitt went from possibly being no-hit to doing the unthinkable.

Booth quelled the storm, however, striking out the next two batters and forcing outfielder Joey Scarf to ground out, ending the inning and, effectively, any chance Pitt had at a comeback.

“I really felt that we were definitely going to score that inning. I really had good feeling about it,” DiMaria said. “But again, [we had] to take advantage of the opportunities we were given. Got a hit, got a walk, got runners on [but] then someone else has to come up with a hit or just something out of the infield to score us some runs.”

While the Irish added three more runs, two the very next inning, for insurance and the eventual 6-0 victory, Pitt head coach Michelle Phalen views the bases loaded situation in the bottom of the fourth as a potential sign of progress.

“It’s tough,” she of the lost chance in the fourth inning, “but our program has made huge strides.”

“Earlier in the first game, we were scoreless with them until the fourth inning,” she added in reference to Pitt’s 7-2 loss to the Irish in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. The Irish broke open the game in the top of the fourth with a flurry of runs in similar fashion to previous wins over Pitt.

Last year, the Panthers were shut out in two meetings with the Irish, falling 8-0 and 9-0 in games played in South Bend, Ind. With the bulk of that Pitt team back for this season, Phalen expected improvement and she has gotten it.

“Every year, you never know what your team is going to put out,” the only coach the program has ever had said. “Notre Dame has been a very solid program for years, and we’re just still trying to get to being solid every year. And I think this is the best returning team we have had [by] adding some of the freshmen and coming out with being able to be solid at a couple of positions.”

Pitt has only one senior currently on its roster, first baseman Casey Pickard. Filling out the rest of the roster are four juniors, seven sophomores and seven freshmen. While the youth has been evident this season, so has the improvement from last year’s 21-36 squad.

The 2004 Panthers only won three Big East contests while this year’s version already has two conference triumphs. Pitt is hitting .268 this season, higher than last season’s .238 clip, on its way to a 15-17 record thus far. The improvement isn’t done yet, though, according to Phalen.

While this season is by no means over for the Panthers, it is never too soon to look to the future.

“Next year we should be even stronger,” Phalen said. “We’re going to be solid again up the middle, you return everybody, and just keep getting better. Notre Dame basically keeps doing that every year.”