TAMPA, Fla. (April 29, 2006) ? The battle between the top two teams in the BIG EAST standings ended in a draw, as the University of South Florida softball team split games with Notre Dame, losing, 7-4, in game one and winning, 7-3, in game two on Saturday afternoon at the USF Softball Field.
Both teams have each suffered two league losses on the year, but Notre Dame (34-15, 14-2 BIG EAST) currently sits in first place over USF (42-21, 12-2 BIG EAST) due to its winning percentage of .875 compared to USF's .857.
In game one, USF got into trouble early after Notre Dame took advantage of USF pitcher Bree Spence to take a 5-0 lead. Carissa Jaquish knocked in the Fighting Irish's first run of the game off of a double, 1-0. With the bases loaded and one out on the board, Steph Brown hit her first-career grand slam to give Notre Dame the five-run lead.
The Bulls answered back putting together a four-run second inning to cut the lead down to 5-4. With the bases loaded and two outs, a passed ball allowed the first run to cross home plate. Seniors Samantha Ray and Christie Chapman took advantage of the scoring situation, as Ray tallied a two-RBI single and Chapman tallied an RBI single.
After USF's offense surged in the second inning, it couldn't get it going the rest of the game, as UND's lead went to three runs, 7-4, thanks to a two-run fifth inning.
Of the nine hits tallied by USF, two players recorded seven of them. Ray accounted for four hits in a 4-for-4 effort, and Chapman accounted for three in a 3-for-3 outing.
Spence (19-7) was credited with the loss, giving up five earned runs on seven hits in three and one-third innings. The sophomore was pulled out of the game after giving up the home run in the second inning, but returned in the sixth to close out the game.
In game two, USF got its offense going early, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Singles by Krista Holle, Ashley Bullion and Jessica Landau loaded up the bases with no outs. After two Bull batters struck out, freshman Britta Giddens came up big for the team, knocking in two runs off of a single to right field.
The Bulls added four more runs to their lead in the third inning, taking advantage of a bases loaded situation. After struggling in game one, Tiffany Stewart got her bat going, clearing the bases with a three-RBI double. Holle followed that up with a single to left field, which scored Stewart and put USF up 6-0.
After USF scored another run in the bottom of the fifth, Notre Dame got its offense going ending the shutout with a two-run sixth inning. The Irish scored another run to make the score 7-3 in the top of the seventh inning, but USF held on and ended the game with the win.
Freshman Cristi Ecks (18-11) got the start and pitched a solid game, striking out eight batters while being charged with three runs in six and two-thirds innings.
USF will conclude its home portion of its 2006 season when it hosts DePaul on Sunday at noon. Before game one, seniors Nicole Christensen, Sarah Watson, Stewart, Ray, Chapman and Holle will be honored for their career achievements.
