Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's softball team is preparing to kick off their 2020 season on February 28th. They are coming off of a 2019 campaign that saw a return to the AMCC Tournament after a 4th place finish.
The Panthers finished last season with a 23-18 record overall and a 10-8 record in AMCC play. In the post-season tournament, the #3 seeded Panthers started off with a victory over Penn State-Altoona but lost back to back games in extra innings to be eliminated from the tournament. Pitt-Bradford had three players named to the AMCC All-Conference team in 2019. Senior Maddy Hillery was named to the 2nd team at second base. Hillery led the team in batting average, finishing at .393. She hit 14 doubles, a triple, a home run, scored 31 runs and drove in 28 more. Junior Sophia Fratercangelo was also named to the second team in the designated player position. She played multiple positions for the Panthers, recording 24 hits and bringing in 15 runs. Senior Grace Dadzaa was the final Panther to receive All-Conference honors, as she was named to the third team as an outfielder. Dadzaa compiled a .342 batting average, scoring 21 runs and stealing a team-high 16 bases.
Looking forward to 2020, head coach Tina Phillips said, "I like this team, we have a strong nucleus of returners who saw a lot of time last season. It will be key that they improve upon last season, particularly offensively, as we lost four players who had 100-hit careers for us. Our freshmen class is very athletic and quick and gives us depth at positions. Our pitching staff is back with Jordan (Uhing) and Kerrigan (Hoffmann), which is a big plus for us, and adding Abby in the circle this season should make us pretty tough."
Offensively, the Panthers will look to their upperclassmen to continue to develop at the plate to replace the offensive production lost through graduation. Junior shortstop Gabby Carpenter hit .368 last season, recording 46 hits which tied for the most on the team. She scored 31 runs and brought in 16 more. Seniors Sophia and Betty Fratercangelo and Melissa Nye will look to increase their production as they step into bigger roles as upper-class leaders on and off the field. In 2019, they combined to record 46 hits, 18 runs scored, and 33 runs driven in.
In the circle, the Panthers return their top two pitchers from 2019. Junior Jordan Uhing went 14-8 last season, compiling a 2.23 earned run average and striking out 90 batters. She was 2nd in the conference in ERA, 3rd in wins and 2nd in innings pitched with 135.0. Fellow Junior Kerrigan Hoffman went 7-6 last season, compiling a 4.20 era and striking out 20 batters in 83.1 innings pitched.
In the AMCC's annual preseason coaches' poll, the Panthers were predicted to finish tied with Franciscan for 3rd place in the conference standings. Coach Phillips said, "Having made the playoff last season, made this team hungry and motivated looking forward. They put in a lot of work in the offseason."
The Panthers will begin their season on Friday, February 28th, when they travel to Roanoke, Va. to play in the Mountain Mash. They will start their season with a game against the hosts, Roanoke, and play a second game on Friday afternoon against Fredonia. On Saturday, they will have a rematch with Fredonia before taking on Susquehanna. Following the four games this weekend, the team will have a week to prepare for their Spring Break trip to Tucson, Az. where they will play 10 games in 7 days, including a matchup with nationally-ranked Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, March 11th. "Our schedule early on is tough and will challenge us, but it will prepare us for further down the road. We just need to start playing games. It's go time!" said Phillips.
