Box Scores: Game 1 | Game 2
PISCATAWAY, N.J. ? The University of South Florida softball team picked up two wins on the road defeating Rutgers 9-1 and 5-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Rutgers University Softball Complex in Piscataway, N.J.
The Bulls run-ruled a BIG EAST opponent in a series for the third consecutive time when the Bulls routed the Scarlet Knights, 9-1, in six innings in the first game of the doubleheader.
USF jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning with three successive singles. Senior Kit Dunbar scored on a right field single from sophomore JoJo Medina. Britta Giddens reached home on an illegal pitch to make the score 2-0.
The Bulls added three more runs in the second inning for a 5-0 lead.
Kelly McCarver and Aya Nakajima drew two walks to lead off the second. With Giddens on deck, Dunbar stepped into the batter's box and loaded the bases on a fielder's choice. Giddens then delivered a two-RBI double just inside the left line to put the Bulls up 4-0.
Dunbar crossed home plate on an Alison Savarese fielder's choice for the final run of the inning.
Rutgers avoided a shutout when junior infielder Kaitlyn Valiente scored the Scarlet Knights' lone run of the game in the third.
USF put four runs in the sixth to run rule the Scarlet Knights and pick up their first conference road win of the season.
Pinch hitter Caitlin Schneider drove a single up the middle to score McCarver and make the score 6-1.
Giddens put the pressure on Rutgers when she propelled the ball out of the left field fence for a three-RBI homerun.
The junior from Bartow, Fla., finished the game 3-for-4, with two runs and a season-high five RBI.
Rutgers was unable to score a run in the sixth to avoid the run rule as they dropped to 12-9 and 1-4 in league play.
Senior pitcher Courtney Mosch was awarded the win and improved to 14-5.
Bulls' batters recorded 10 hits in game one, marking the ninth time USF has had 10 or more hits this season.
GAME TWO
Bulls' freshman pitcher Capri Catalano returned to her native New Jersey and took the mound in front of a large crowd as USF picked up its sixth straight BIG EAST win when it defeated Rutgers 5-2 in the second game of the doubleheader.
The 2007 New Jersey Pitcher of the Year remains a perfect 9-0 in the circle. Catalano shut out the Scarlet Knights through five innings, striking out eight batters in five innings of work, and giving up one run in the sixth.
Courtney Mosch came in relief of Catalano in the fifth and recorded her fourth save of 2008.
JoJo Medina led off the fourth inning with a double to centerfield and broke the game on an Aya Nakajima single to put the Bulls up 1-0.
Medina scored again in the top sixth when she knocked the ball out of the ballpark for her sixth homerun of the season. The sophomore first baseman led all batters going 3-for-3, with two RBI and a run.
The Bulls added three runs off of four hits in the seventh to make the score 5-1, Rutgers scored one run in their final outing to cut the Bulls' lead to 5-2. The Scarlet Knights, however, were unable to put more runs in the board as USF improved to 31-12 and a perfect 6-0 in conference play.
Kit Dunbar finished game two 2-for-4, one run and an RBI.
USF will next face Villanova in a Sunday doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for noon.
