Box Score: USF 3, Ole Miss 0 | USF 9, Florida A&M 1 | Photo Gallery | 2008 Season Stats
TAMPA, Fla. -- The USF softball team kicked off the 2008 Best Western Tournament with a pair of wins over Ole Miss, 3-0, and Florida A&M, 9-1, on Saturday in Tampa.
The battery of catcher Cat Olnick and pitcher Christi Ecks supplied the heroics for USF in the opener against the Rebels.
Ecks held the Ole Miss offense with six scoreless innings and set the table for dramatics in the seventh inning.
Leadoff hitter Britt Giddens began the rally with a double.
“Britta is the type of that can win you a game with a single or win you a game with a home run,” Eriksen added. “So it's nice to have that versatility in the top of the lineup.”
Tara Toscano and JoJo Media reached base and set the table for Olnick. Olnick took an 0-2 pitch and drove it to the outfield fence for a three-run double.
“We talked all week about making great 0-2 swings and she (Olnick) absolutely hit a rope on an outside pitch,” Eriksen said. “She stayed with it the whole way and hit it square.”
Ecks would close out the bottom half of the seventh inning and pick up her first win of the season.
The Bulls didn't have to wait long for their offense in the second game, which they won in five innings with a 9-1 run-rule victory over FAMU.
USF jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and would add two more runs in the fourth and three in the fifth frame to seal the victory.
USF scored the nine runs on 10 hits, which were spread out among seven hitters. Kelly McCarver, Allison Savarese and Courtney Mosch. Mosch and Savarese also had two RBI apiece. Five other players contributed one RBI.
USF only needed two extra base hit ? a double by Brittany Villa and a home run by Mosch ? to produce the nine run output. They helped themselves by working the count for six walks as well.
“We had good at bats where we produced hits and others where we were able to be patient and draw a walk,” said Eriksen. “Our players took what the pitcher was giving and a big win was the final result.”
Freshman Capri Catalano (2-0) was the benefactor of all the offense, but she may not have needed the help. Catalano rang up 12 strikeouts against the Rattlers and only allowed two hits.
The rookie from New Jersey was charged with one earned run, which came on a RBI single by Tiffany Chan in the fourth inning.
USF will be back in action Saturday as they take on No. 5 Tennessee at 2 p.m. The Bulls will try to avenge last weekend's 3-1 loss to Florida Gulf Coast when they meet the Eagles at 4 p.m.
