Pitt Snaps Florida State’s 36-Game Conference Win Streak

The Pittsburgh Panthers (20-14-1, 9-4-0) softball team continues to find ways to win during ACC play. This season, they have managed to win every conference series and their 1-0 victory over the Florida State Seminoles yesterday tied the series at 1-1.

Not only did the victory keep their hopes of winning every ACC series alive, but it also snapped the 36-game conference win streak of Florida State. It was also the Seminoles first ACC loss of the season.

If Pitt manage to beat Florida State tomorrow afternoon, they’ll have won every road series against a conference opponent for the season. Pitt will play their last three ACC series at home to close the season.

How improved are the Panthers this season? Last year, they finished with a conference record of 7-17, but this year they currently boast a 9-4 record. To date, they have outscored their ACC rivals 59 to 36 with series victories over the North Carolina Wolfpack (2-1), North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1), Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0, third game cancelled), and the Duke Blue Devils (2-1).

At the plate, the Panthers are led by senior catcher Giorgiana Zeremenko. She leads the team in batting average (.346), hits (37), doubles (9), home runs (11), RBIs (19), total bases (79), slugging percentage (.738) and on-base percentage (.444).

On the mound Pitt is led by the one-two punch of senior Kayla Harris and junior Sarah Dawson. The former has an impressive 8-1 record which includes a 1.94 ERA and 8 complete games. The latter leads the Panthers in wins at 10 and 97.2 innings pitched; she is also second on the team with a 2.29 ERA.

Considering Pitt will be playing home games in fairly nice weather (hopefully), it would be great to see fans support the team as the enter the ACC Tournament in mid-May.