With the Panthers ahead 4-0 entering the final inning, Notre Dame scored five unearned runs in the seventh after two costly Pittsburgh errors allowed the Fighting Irish back into the game. Pittsburgh started the first game off with a two-run first inning.

The Panthers’ leadoff hitter, freshman Francesca DiMaria (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) hit her fourth home run of the season off of Notre Dame starter Steffany Stenglein and two batters later, sophomore Casey Pickard (Newhall, Calif./William S. Hart) connected on her sixth homer of the season to make it a 2-0 game.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Panthers scored two more runs to make it a 4-0 contest. DiMaria reached on an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Ana Velazquez (Santa Ana, Calif./Santa Ana C.C.). With two outs, third baseman Kelly Hulpa (Washington, Pa./Trinity) drew a walk and junior Heather Andrews (Zelienople, Pa./Riverview) followed with a sharp double down the left-field line that scored both DiMaria and Hulpa.

Pittsburgh starter Nikki Gasti (Carmichaels, Pa./Carmichaels) cruised through the first six innings, only allowing one Fighting Irish hit. In the seventh, Andria Bledsoe led off with a single but was thrown out at second on a sacrifice attempt by Liz Hartmann. Lisa Mattison hit a sharp ground ball that second baseman Angela Blackmon (San Diego, Calif./Palomar C.C.) couldn’t come up with and another error by Hulpa on the next play allowed the first Notre Dame run to score. With two outs, Megan Ciolli dribbled a single out in front of the plate that scored another run to make it 4-2. After a walk to load the bases, Andrea Loman cleared them with a three-run double to center field to account for the final margin. Gasti allowed four hits and four walks with three strikeouts in the loss.

Notre Dame starting pitcher Heather Booth shut down the Panthers in the second game, allowing just one hit and an unearned run while striking out seven in the Fighting Irish’s 4-1 victory. Mallorie Lenn hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning off of Pittsburgh starter Janelle Pepe (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville), who pitched well in the loss with just five hits allowed and one walk against three strikeouts.

Pittsburgh dropped to 17-21 on the season and 3-5 in Big East play while Notre Dame upped its record to 16-11 and 2-0 in the conference. The Panthers will host Boston College in a Big East doubleheader on Friday, starting at 3 p.m.