April 19, 2008

Box Score

PITTSBURGH--Senior Mary Hecker hit her third home run of the season to lift the Pitt softball team to a come-back 5-4 win over Seton Hall, at Trees Field, this afternoon. The Panthers improved to 25-17on the year and 8-5 in the Big East, while the Pirates slipped to 17-27 overall and 4-11 in league play.

Hecker (Roseville, Calif./Roseville) gave Pitt the eventual win with a three-run bomb in the fifth inning. Her third homer of the season, she sailed a long ball through center field, scoring senior Jessica Dignon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and junior Samantha Card (Miami, Fla./Our Lady of Lourdes/Florida International). Additionally, Hecker's homer was the 19th of the season for the Panthers.

Earlier in that inning, freshman Reba Tutt (Culpeper, Va./Highland) scored off a single up the middle from Dignon, after Tutt bunted to get on base.

Trailing 1-0, Tutt tied the game with her third home run of the season, after Seton Hall took the lead in the first inning with a run off one hits. Tutt is just one of four Panthers to hit her third bomb this season, as she joins Hecker, Card and Dignon on the list.

The Pirates took a 4-1 lead in the top of the fifth with three runs off another two hits.

Freshman Cory Berliner (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) improved to 14-8 on the mound and recorded her 131st strikeout in the contest. Berliner is now one win shy of tying the single-season wins record and is now fourth overall on the single-season strikeout list.