April 1, 2008

PITTSBURGH -Coming off a 3-1 weekend, the Pitt softball team travels to Akron on Wednesday, April 2, for a non-conference mid-week doubleheader at 2 p.m., at Lee R. Jackson Softball Field. The Panthers are 15-12 on the season, while the Zips are 10-20.

This will mark the third meeting of the season for Pitt and Akron, as they met twice in the James Madison Tournament earlier in the year. In the first meeting of the tournament, the Zips were victorious at 6-5 in a late inning come back. However, the Panther won the JMU Tournament title with an 8-5 win two days later.

In the series, Akron leads 6-3 and is led by Lisa McLean with a .354 batting average and five triples on the year. The Zips are coming off a 0-4 Mid-American Conference weekend where they lost road games to Miami (Ohio) and Ball State.

Pitt opened Big East play this past weekend with a 3-1 record, as junior Samantha Card (Miami, Fla./Our Lady of Lourdes/Florida International) blasted two home runs, giving her a career-tying six long balls on the season. Card also leads the squad with a .366 batting average.

Additionally, senior Jessica Dignon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning against Rutgers to lift the Panthers to a 9-3 victory. Dignon leads all with 24 RBI, 13 extra-base hits and is tied for first with 20 runs on the year.

Freshman pitcher Cory Berliner (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) holds a 1.31 ERA and won her ninth contest of the season last weekend. Her 10th win of the season will tie six others for the fourth-best single-season win mark.

This doubleheader marks the end of an eight-week road swing for the Panthers, that began Feb. 8 in Miami, Fla.