Softball: Comeback falls short in Pitt’s return to gameplay

It finally happened.

After chilly temperatures caused the cancellation of eight consecutive scheduled games for Pitt’s softball team, the team got on the field Thursday at Youngstown State University Softball Complex in Youngstown, Ohio.

Although temperatures felt warm enough to play, the result shows it wasn’t exactly a warm welcome back for the Panthers.

Pitt mounted a late comeback effort after falling behind the Penguins in the fourth, but the Panthers ultimately fell short for a 4-2 loss in seven innings, extending their losing streak to seven games.

“It definitely felt good to get on the field and finally play,” junior pitcher Savannah King, who would enter the game in relief, said.

Junior pitcher Alexa Larkin (3-4) started and lasted three and two-thirds innings, allowing no runs and just two hits through her first three innings. Pitt, however, was just as ineffective against Youngstown State starter Casey Crozier (8-3), who struck out six Panthers in four innings.

Larkin allowed two singles with one out in the fourth, allowed a run on a sacrifice fly for the second out, then two more doubles and a single before being pulled from the game. She would suffer the loss, having allowed seven hits, three earned runs and no walks while striking out three Youngstown State batters (14-10).

Pitt (8-14) got two runs back — its only scoring of the contest — in the top of the sixth when second baseman Maggie Sevilla belted a two-run homer, scoring shortstop Carissa Throckmorton, who reached on an error earlier in the inning.

King allowed her only run in the bottom half of the inning. She allowed two hits, two walks and struck out one batter in her 2 and two-thirds innings of work.

“There were some positive things in the game that we need to build on … but we need to figure out how to win again,” King said.

The Panthers, who finished with six hits in total, are slated for their first home series since a two-game sweep at the hands of North Carolina on March 15. They’ll face Virginia, ranked 10th — one spot ahead of last-place Pitt — for a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m. and on Sunday at noon.

“Only our team can make the adjustments to [get back to winning],” King said, “and I think after today we are fired up and ready to make those changes going into this weekend against Virginia.”