University of Louisville
Pittsburgh
Softball Sweeps Pittsburgh 3-2 and 7-2
April 09, 2011 | Softball
April 9, 2011
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - - The University of Louisville softball team picked up two wins Saturday, defeating host Pittsburgh 3-2 in eight innings and posting a 7-2 victory in the nightcap of a BIG EAST Conference doubleheader.
Freshman Caralisa Connell notched two wins and struck out 13 while Colby Wherry and Hannah Kiyohara each had four hits on the day. The Cards (29-10, 7-1 BIG EAST) have now won 10 straight and 12 of their last 13 games.
"We faced a very good Pittsburgh team today and I was pleased with how we responded," said U of L head coach Sandy Pearsall. "We hit the ball well and made some great defensive plays. Caralisa Connell continues to be our workhorse in the circle."
Louisville 3 - Pittsburgh 2 (8 innings)
In game one, Chelsea Bemis went 2-for-4 with a game-winning home run in the eighth as the Cardinals pushed their win streak to nine games with a 3-2 victory over the host Panthers.
The Cards broke through with two runs in the top of the third. Katie Keller was safe on a fielder's choice. Alicja Wolny followed with a two-out hit to place two runners on for Chelsea Bemis' RBI single. Colby Wherry connected on a base hit to bring Wolny home and make the score 2-0.
Pitt tied the game in the home half of the sixth when Keli Gaynor's two-out home run over the left field wall scored Niki Cognigni, who had reached on a fielder's choice.
Bemis led off the top of the eighth with a shot over right field. Her team-leading sixth home run of the season gave Louisville a 3-2 lead.
The Panthers put together another scoring opportunity in the home half of the eighth. Kelly Hmiel delivered a leadoff single. Pinch-runner Ashlyn Zellefrow entered the game and took second on Yvette Bravo's sacrifice bunt to bring the tying run into scoring position with one out. Louisville catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod fired a strike to second baseman Katie Keller to pick off Zellefrow and Connell struck out Cognigni for the 3-2 win.
Connell (15-4) picked up her ninth straight win, allowing two earned runs on eight hits and striking out eight. Wherry finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. Kiyohara also had a pair of hits for the Cards, who held a 9-8 advantage in hits.
Karlyn Jones (8-4) took the loss, giving up one earned run on three hits in 2.0 innings of relief. Hmiel led the Panthers with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.
Louisville 7 - Pitt 2
In the nightcap, Taner Fowler went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI while Caralisa Connell struck out five for her 10th straight win.
After two scoreless innings, the Panthers broke through with a run in the third when Reba Tutt's RBI double scored Jessica Rhodunda.
The Cards answered with four runs in the fourth. Alicja Wolny and Chelsea Bemis led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Wherry hit into a fielder's choice that saw Bemis out at second, but placed runners on the corners for Maggie Ruckenbrod's sacrifice fly which scored pinch runner Chelsea Jordan to tie the game at 1-1. Kristin Austin's RBI double put the Cards ahead 2-1. Taner Fowler connected on her fourth home run of the season, a two run shot over the left field wall, to make the score 4-1.
Hannah Kiyohara's two-run single plated Wherry and Austin to make it a 6-1 game in the fourth. Wherry led off the inning with a single and moved to second on an error. Maggie Ruckenbrod's sacrifice bunt sent pinch runner Katelyn Mann to third. Austin drew a one-out walk and moved to second on Fowler's groundout to bring Kiyohara to the plate with two outs in the inning.
Katie Keller led off the seventh with her third home run of the season - a shot over the left field wall - to give the Cards a 7-1 lead.
Kristen Cheesebrew's one-out solo homer in the seventh made the score 7-2.
Connell (16-4) surrendered two earned runs on six hits and struck five in her second complete game of the day. Kiyohara was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Wherry was 2-for-4 with a run as the Cards pounded out 10 hits in the game.
Karlyn Jones (8-5) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and striking out two in 4.0 innings of work. Cheesebrew was 2-for-2 with a home run to lead the Panthers at the plate. Pitt drops to 24-10 and 3-2 in BIG EAST Conference play.
NOTES: The 10 game win streak is tied for the fourth longest in program history. The last time the Cards won 10 straight games was in the 2009 season, when the squad produced a program-best 48 wins.
- Freshman catcher Maggie Ruckenbrod picked off two runners in the first game of the Pitt doubleheader. She now has 10 on the season and owns the single game, season and career records for runners picked off.
