The Battery for Pitt, Peyton Taylor and Taylor Niemotka, combined for a complete game on Thursday giving up only 4 hits and 1 run to the visiting Statesmen to secure the title of Regular Season Champions.
The Bulldogs attacked early scoring 1 run in the bottom of the first inning. Freshmen Megan Latsko reached on base on a single to left field and later advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Peyton Taylor then hit an RBI single to right field to make the score 1-0.
In the bottom of the 3rd Anna Craft dropped down a bunt single bringing up Taylor Carroll in the top of the lineup who drew a walk to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Runners then advanced on a ground ball to second base by Megan Latsko. With 2 on and 2 outs, Peyton Taylor drilled a hard ground ball to the 5-6 hole scoring Craft to make the score 2-0 going into the top of the 4th. Richard Bland would push its lone run across the plate in the top of the 5th inning making the score 2-1.
In the top of the 7th inning the leadoff batter reached base on a single to shallow left field, putting the tying run on base with no outs. The next batter for RBC hit a line drive to right fielder Craft, who quickly threw the ball back in to Bree Williams at 1st for the double-play to kill the momentum for the Statesmen. The last out was a ground ball to 2nd basemen Summer Prevatte to record the final play the of game.
In a true pitcher?s duel, Peyton Taylor held the Statesmen to just 4 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts while PCC gathered 5. Both teams only committed 1 error in the field.
?It was a very even matchup, and both team?s competed very well. Our players really left it all out on the field and played with a lot of heart and determination. It was tough adjusting to 3 different pitchers in just one game, but our patience at the plate and timely hits, execution, and walks were huge. It was our goal at the beginning of the season to win the regular season and we are really going to enjoy this win for the next couple of days and regroup and focus on the tournament next week. It took everyone on this team to get where we are at now, and it's going to take everyone to be successful in the tournament. Today was a huge team win and I'm extremely proud of the way the team competed today and their accomplishments."
The Bulldogs will head to Burlington, NC for the NJCAA DII Region X tournament next week to compete on Friday and Saturday in a double-elimination format tournament. The winner of the tournament will go on to complete at the NJCAA DII World Series in Clinton, MS.