Pitt softball shut out by Florida State in ACC Tournament, 8-0

Earlier, I wrote about Pitt's softball team having a difficult challenge right off the bat in facing top-seeded Florida State in the ACC Softball Tournament. While the team did come close in one game against the Seminoles earlier this year when they were swept in a series, Pitt couldn't get anything going on Thursday, falling 8-0.

In the sixth inning, Florida State dropped a three-run homer on the Panthers and college softball's mercy rule kicked in since Pitt was down by eight runs after the fifth inning.

With an RPI of No. 86, it seems unlikely that the team will reach the NCAA Tournament and the season looks to be over. While the Panthers again won 30 games, it was a step back from last season when the team went on a deep ACC Tournament run, reaching the finals before going on to not only play in the NCAA Tournament, but almost make it out of their region.

Matching last year's success was going to be difficult. The team won a program-best 37 games and had the best season in its entire history. So while the year was a step back from what they accomplished last season, it was another 30-win effort as the club finishes 31-20. This is the first time in club history that Pitt has strung together back-to-back 30-win seasons. It's also the first time since 2011 that the Panthers have even been over .500 in consecutive years.

Because of that, overall the program still remains on the upswing. 68 wins in the past two seasons is impressive - especially when you consider that in the three prior years, they were a combined 24 games under .500. There's work to be done but it's still a program that is starting to build a better foundation.

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