Pitt leaves Raleigh victorious

After overcoming struggles on the mound in game one, the Pitt softball team walked away with wins in two of three games this weekend in a series against North Carolina State in Raleigh, North Carolina.

After splitting with the Wolfpack in the teams’ doubleheader on Saturday, the Panthers closed out the series with a 3-0 win, improving their record to 23-12 and 5-7 in ACC play.

“We just kept battling,” head coach Holly Aprile said in a press release. “The first loss was disappointing but we worked to not let it get us down mentally.”

Over the weekend, Pitt outscored NC State 10-7, dropping the first game 6-5, then winning the next two 2-1 and 3-0.

Kayla Harris started the first game, but left after two innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. Jenna Modic came in  as a relief, but offered little help, surrendering three runs in her four innings.

Despite the Panthers’ struggles on the mound, strong hitting kept them in the contest. Redshirt senior Maggie Sevilla brought in one run on a bases-loaded single in the first inning. The Wolfpack quickly answered, scoring two runs in the second inning.

That back and forth would continue for the rest of the game, as the two teams changed leads multiple times. NC State eventually won on a walk-off single in the seventh by Meredith Burroughs after Modic walked two batters in a row.

Despite her performance on the mound, Modic was powerful at the plate, hitting two solo home runs. Shelby Pickett was also 3-3 in the losing affair, as the Panthers outhit the Wolfpack 10 to 8.

The second game of the doubleheader Saturday contrasted with the first, as the Panthers won 2-1 in a pitching battle.

This time Modic got the start over Harris, allowing one run on four hits in three innings. She walked a batter with the bases loaded, after allowing two singles and a walk, and left the game with her team down 1-0.

Harris replaced her with an impeccable performance, pitching four shutout innings, allowing just two hits and striking out seven.

Sophomore Erin Hershman provided the game-winning hit when she slugged a two-run homer off of Brittany Nimmo. Nimmo pitched all seven innings, allowing six hits.

The Panthers carried their pitching momentum into Sunday with a shutout victory.

Modic held the Wolfpack hitless in her three innings, striking out one and walking four. Harris relieved her with four scoreless innings, striking out three and allowing three hits.

The Panthers scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning — Kathryn Duran brought in Olivia Gray on a bunt and Kaitlin Manuel generatedthe second run on a sacrifice fly. Duran scored the final on a passed ball.

Pitt outhit NC State 4-3 and drew nine walks.

“We stayed confident, made some great plays and came up with a couple of big hits that got our offense going in the last two games,” Aprile said in the release. “We also had two really good pitching performances after a bit of a struggle in the first game.”

The Panthers will return to play on Wednesday at 3 p.m. for the first game of a two-game series against Bucknell at home.