Sarah Seamans has learned plenty about herself during her time at Pitt.
Playing five seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference will do that for a player.
“I would say I’m a pretty tough out,” said Seamans, a 2018 Union High School graduate, now in her final season as a graduate student with the Panthers. “I kind of know going into my at-bat what I want to look for and the pitch I want to hit.
“If the pitcher makes a mistake, I’ll take advantage of it.”
Seamans has done plenty of that during her tenure in Oakland.
The first baseman initially ascended to become one of the top sluggers in the ACC in 2021, when as a junior, she finished fourth in her conference with a team-high 13 home runs. She also finished 12th in the ACC that season with a .647 slugging percentage, while compiling 86 total bases and 35 RBIs to finish 10th in conference in each category.
After a slight dip in her power numbers in 2022, Seamans is back among the top sluggers in the ACC this season.
Seamans, who is riding an eight-game hitting streak, currently has a .407 batting average, which is seventh best in the ACC. Her .731 slugging percentage is also good for seventh best in the conference.
“Until a few years ago, I think it was my junior year, I wasn’t much of a home run hitter,” Seamans said. “I don’t know if something just changed. I go up there every time focusing on hitting the ball hard and being a hard out. It just happens to go over sometimes.”
Seamans currently has a team-high eight home runs – the most recent coming by way of a two-run shot in Pitt’s 4-0 victory against Saint Francis on Tuesday in Loretto. She will have the opportunity to build upon her strong start when the Panthers (18-17, 2-9 ACC) host Georgia Tech (21-19, 4-11 ACC) for a three-game weekend series beginning at 6 p.m. Friday at Vartabedian Field in Oakland.
In addition to her team-high home run tally, Seamans is leading the Panthers with 44 hits. She has a 1.206 OPS, and a .475 on-base percentage, to go along with her 23 runs scored, 9 doubles and 23 RBIs so far in 2023.
Seamans has formed a formidable duo with fellow Pitt graduate student Yvonne Whaley, who is hitting a team-high .434 with 25 RBIs and 15 doubles.
“I think it’s been going pretty good,” Seamans said of her season to date. “This is my last year. I’m trying to just make the most of it with my friends and just play the best we can.
“I think looking back to my freshman year I’m a completely different player and person,” she added. “I think I’ve just grown so much. I think a big part of that is the support I’ve gotten from everyone – my teammates and coaches.”
After spending her first season at Pitt in mostly a reserve role, Seamans said she began to produce more consistently for the Panthers for one reason.
“Once I got going and started playing more I gained more confidence in myself,” she said.
And now Seamans said she is looking to return the favor.
“I think me being a fifth-year (player) I kind of just, the new girls coming in, I try to help them out and show them the ropes and how things go every year,” she said. “It is a role I take pride in just to establish the culture on the team and how everything works.”
Seamans said she also takes pride in serving as a former WPIAL standout. She is joined on the Panthers’ roster in that capacity along with sophomore infielder Haylie Brunson and freshman catcher Sandra Soltes.
Brunson, a Mount Pleasant graduate, is hitting .238 with 11 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 5 doubles. Soltes, a Bethel Park graduate, is serving as a reserve player in her first season at Pitt. She has six appearances as a pinch-hitter in 2023.
“Just looking back and seeing where I came from, a pretty small high school with a graduating class of 40, it means a lot to me,” Seamans said of her success at Pitt. “It means a lot that I get to represent my hometown as well.”
Now, Seamans hopes to do so in the ACC tournament.
Pitt currently sits in 12th place in the conference standings, with the top 10 teams qualifying for a berth in the ACC tournament.
Now occupying 10th place … Georgia Tech.
“We have pretty big expectations,” Seamans said. “We have a great group of girls. I just love my teammates and coaches.
“It would be great,” she added of the Panthers qualifying for the conference postseason. “My last year, it would be the first time going to the ACC tournament. It would just be huge for us. It would be huge for the other seniors as well. It would mean a lot to us.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.