TAMPA, Fla. (March 30, 2007) ? Britta Giddens hit a walk-off grand slam home run in game one and Bree Spence held off a late-inning comeback in game two to lead the University of South Florida softball team to a pair of wins, 8-4, 4-3, over Rutgers at the USF Softball Field on Friday afternoon.
Freshman Kristen Gordon (10-4) won game one, pitching four and two-third innings of relief with three runs allowed on five hits and three strikeouts. Redshirt junior Courtney Mosch (7-2) was the game-two winner, allowing two runs on five hits with five Ks in five and one-thirds innings. Spence picked up her ninth-career save closing out the seventh inning of game two, tying her for third all-time.
Giddens led all players with four RBI, hitting her first-career grand slam. Junior transfer Kit Dunbar batted a team-best .714, going 5-for-7 with two runs scored.
Trailing 4-1 in the seventh inning of game one, the Bulls rallied to tie the game and walked off with the win thanks to Giddens bat. The win marks the first time this season that the Bulls came back to win when trailing after six innings.
USF (30-16, 2-0 BIG EAST) got into trouble early in the game, as Rutgers (10-20, 0-2 BIG EAST) took the early lead and held the Bulls off the scoreboard. USF managed to record three hits through the first five innings.
The Bulls scored in the sixth inning, putting together a two-out rally. Alison Savarese doubled to leadoff and advanced to third on a groundout. Aya Nakajima hit a chopper up the middle for the RBI single.
In the seventh, Mosch opened up the scoring with an RBI single. With the bases loaded, Ashley Bullion and Aya Nakajima drew walks to even the score, and Giddens finished the comeback with her homer.
After USF took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game two, it added three more to its lead in the fourth and fifth inning. Savarese and Bullion had consecutive RBI singles in the fourth, and Danielle Urbanik added another in the fifth.
After Mosch retired 11-straight batters starting in the first inning, she got into trouble in the sixth and gave up two runs to Rutgers. Gordon came out of the bullpen and got the final two outs to keep USF up by two.
In the top of the seventh, the Bulls almost lost their lead. Spence started the inning and got two quick outs while giving up a double. After Rutgers singled putting runners at the corners, consecutive errors allowed a run to score. First baseman Bullion ended the game fielding a grounder unassisted.
The Bulls continue BIG EAST action on Sunday when they welcome Villanova at noon. The first game of the doubleheader will be broadcast live on Catch 47 - Tampa Bay Sports Television and the official cable partner of USF Athletics. The broadcast will also be re-aired on April 2 at 9 p.m.
