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File this in the 'It's early but worth a mention' category, but Pitt's softball team is off to a 5-0 start to the season. That start, according to the media guide, is the best in program history.
The Panthers have won some games comfortably and a couple pretty narrowly. They beat Sam Houston State by 13-1 in the season opener and knocked them off most recently on Sunday, 7-6. In between, they picked up three wins against Northern Illinois and Texas State. All five games were part of the Hampton Inn Tournament down in Texas.
Outfielder Carly Thea, who was All-ACC Second Team and All-Regional last year may be the player to watch on the team. But Ohio State transfer Shelby Pickett is off to the best start offensively. Pickett, who sat out last year due to injury, leads the team in batting (.647), home runs (2), hits (11), and total bases (21).
On the mound, Savannah King already has two complete games and is 3-0 with a .057 ERA.
The softball program has been one that hasn't really gotten off the ground despite a nice facility in the Petersen Sports Complex. Since the program started in 1998, it has seen only five winning seasons. With the move to the ACC, though, hopefully that will turn around. It's early, but a 5-0 start is nice to see after the team's 15-29 record last year. The program hasn't been above .500 since 2011, when they won a record 34 games.
This weekend, the team heads out to California for five more games as part of the UC Santa Barbara Tournament.
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