April 4, 2008

PITTSBURGH--The Pitt softball team faces Big East foes Connecticut and Providence in its home opener at Trees Field, this weekend. The Panthers face the Huskies on Saturday, April 5, at 11 a.m., and meet the Friars at noon on Sunday, April 6.

Pitt (17-12, 3-1 Big East) is coming off a doubleheader sweep over Akron, including a 10-0 decision which marked the squad's seventh shut-out of the season. With the win, freshman pitcher Cory Berliner (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) improved her season record to 10-5 and tallied her 100th career strikeout, which ties Laura Belardinelli (2004-07) for the second-best mark of a rookie pitcher.

Senior Jessica Dignon (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) led the Pitt offense in the second game of the doubleheader, going 3-for-4 with six RBI and her first-career grand slam.

When the two teams met last season, Pitt swept Providence, 3-0 and 4-3. In the first game of the doubleheader, junior Samantha Card (Miami, Fla./Our Lady of Lourdes/Florida International) was 2-for-3 with a RBI and 11 putouts.

The Huskies gave Pitt their first conference loss of the year last season, in a hard fought game that was tied at one run apiece until the sixth inning. Card had another multi-hit game.