Pitt softball falls to Cal in first-ever NCAA Tournament game

Pitt's softball team made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament on Friday, but fell short to Cal, 11-3.

The Panthers led 2-0 early against No. 19 Cal, but gave up a crushing seven runs in the second to fall behind 7-2. The Bears added four more runs in the fifth inning to lead 11-3 and won on an eight-run rule. If a team is ahead more eight runs or more after the fifth, game over.

Next up for Pitt in the double-elimination setting is Oakland, who lost to Michigan in their first game. You can catch that game on Saturday on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. The winner of this game will then take on the loser of the Michigan-Cal game shortly after the Oakland contest almost immediately following - that game will take place at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday broadcast on ESPNU. The loser of Pitt-Oakland will be eliminated from the tournament and the winner will move on face the loser of the Michigan-Cal game.

Would be great to see Pitt win their first tournament game and if they somehow won both games, they would need to win two games on Sunday to advance.