Softball collects two wins in Cougar Classic

For the second week in a row, the Pitt women’s softball team was haunted by tough losses…. For the second week in a row, the Pitt women’s softball team was haunted by tough losses. Competing in the Cougar Classic in South Carolina, Pitt (3-7) lost in the semifinal game and missed the championship game by only one run. The Panthers did, however, pick up two wins over the weekend.

Pitt 5, Iowa State 1

Pitt’s Christa Hunter broke a 1-1 tie and helped her team end its three-game losing streak with a one-run home run in the fourth inning against the Cyclones (8-2) on Friday.

The Panthers then used a three-run fifth inning to take control of the game. Jessica Thomas, making her first start of the season, singled to lead off the inning. Thomas then moved to third on two consecutive sacrifice bunts. Francesca DiMaria ripped a two-out double to score Thomas.

Its lesson learned, Iowa State intentionally walked Hunter, with Casey Pickard set to bat next. Pickard, with two outs and two on, taught the Cyclones another lesson by hitting a bases-clearing triple, giving Pitt a 5-1 lead.

Laura Belardinelli pitched a complete, two-hitter game and won her first contest of the season.

This was the first meeting between the two teams and the first time in four attempts the Panthers beat a team from the Big XII Conference.

Pitt 2, Winthrop 1

For eight complete innings on Friday, neither team crossed home plate. It wasn’t until the top of the ninth that Winthrop (7-7) scored a run, which it followed up by giving up two runs — and the game — to the Panthers in the bottom of the ninth.

Starting pitcher Meghan Bostick and reliever Hunter held the Eagles to just three hits in the extra-inning bout and combined for eight strikeouts and two walks.

Because of the international tie-breaker rule, Pitt started the bottom of the ninth with Morgan Howard already on first base. She went on to score the tying run when Hunter smacked an RBI double into right-center field.

Joey Scarf, as a pinch-runner for Hunter, moved to third on a single by Pickard. Mary Hecker came through with her team-leading sixth RBI, grounding a ball to second base,allowing Scarf to beat the throw home and score the game-winning run.

Pickard ended the game with 13 putouts, tying the sixth-highest single-game total in Pitt history.

Charleston 4, Pitt 2

On Saturday, Pitt’s Belardinelli held the Cougars (13-7) to only three hits in six innings but still suffered a 4-2 loss.

Following two one-out walks in the third, Charleston’s Leshe Russell cleared the bases with a deep hit into right field. Cougar catcher Jayme Durand then smacked a home run over the center-field fence to give her team a 4-0 lead.

The Panthers managed two runs in the fifth inning, but that would be as close as they’d get. Pitt catcher Hecker finished 1-for-3 with a hit and two RBIs.

Virginia Tech 4, Pitt 3

The Panthers took an early 3-0 lead against the Hokies (14-2) on Saturday, but a four-run Virginia Tech fourth inning handed Pitt its second loss of the tournament.

Hunter gave up four earned runs on the day, but held the Hokies to just six hits for the game.

The Panthers scored first when Scarf hit an RBI double into the outfield. Pitt then took a 3-0 lead in the third when freshman Jessica Dignon hit a two-run single.

The Hokies went on to claim the tournament because of their opening 1-0 win against Charleston on Friday. Rain cancelled the championship game, making this possible.

Charleston 3, Pitt 2

In a semi-final matchup with host team Charleston on Sunday, Pitt dropped another one-run game, again failing to hold on to an early lead.

Pitt scored the game’s first two runs in the fourth inning. Howard, Pickard and Hunter all hit one-out singles, with Hunter recording an RBI on hers. Pickard, who moved to third on Hunter’s single, scored on an RBI single by DiMaria.

Hunter, pitching for the Panthers, gave up a two-run homer in the fifth inning to tie the game at two. She then made a costly error in the seventh inning to allow the Cougars to score the winning run as well as advance to the championship game against Virginia Tech.

Pickard reached two milestones in the loss. Her three at-bats gave her 519 for her career, one more than Kelly Hulpa, the former leader for the Panthers in that category. Pickard also had 12 putouts defensively for Pitt, giving her 101 in the Panther’s first 10 games of the season and 1,004 for her career to become the first Panther to reach the 1,000-putout mark.

Pitt will travel to Tampa, Fla., this weekend for the USF-Louisville Slugger Tournament.