April 2, 2006

Box Score

VILLANOVA, Pa.--Senior Lisa McGregor garnered her sixth home run of the season and drove in all five batters, tying a single-game school record, as the University of Pittsburgh softball team earned the sweep over Villanova with a 5-1 victory in game two of this afternoon's doubleheader, held at Villanova Softball Field. Pitt tied its win total of 23 from last season with the win, improving to 23-12 on the year and 7-1 in the conference.

With no outs on the board, senior McGregor (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) cleared the bases with runners at second and third with a long ball over the left field fence. Junior Joey Scarf (Humble, Texas/Humble) scored from third after tallying her second triple of the season, while Dignon scored on the play after extending her hitting streak to eight games with a line drive to center field that looked as if it was caught but was ruled a drop without protest from the fielder. Pitt held on to a four-run shutout after five innings of action.

McGregor tallied her fifth RBI of the game with a single to left field, after battling through a 3-2 count in the sixth. Senior Francesca DiMaria (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) was walked and scored on the play.

DiMaria scored the first run of the game in the first inning before the Wildcats could put an out on the board. Pitt, then, forced a pitching change after the bases were loaded with no outs and one run, but weren't able to send another runner home.

Villanova looked to put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth, but junior Heather Connor (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) gunned down the runner attempting to steal second.

Junior Laura Belardinelli (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) held runners at second and third in the fifth inning with a groundout to short stop and then assisted on the third out with a toss to McGregor at first.

The Wildcats tallied two one-out singles in the seventh and a wild pitch from Belardinelli placed both runners in scoring position. McGregor fielded a bunt rolling down the first base line and tagged the runner for the second out, but lost the shutout with a wild pitch to the next batter. Belardinelli struck out that batter, two pitches later.

Belardinelli (10-4) pitched the four-hit complete game and fanned a season-high eight batters.

Pitt returns to Trees Field on Tuesday, April 4, when it hosts Kent State in a midweek doubleheader.