|
|
 |
| |
|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
|
FGCU |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
3 |
|
USF |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
3 |
|
Pitching |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
|
W-Howell |
2.2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
|
L-Casey |
1.1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Hitting Leaders |
AB |
R |
H |
RBI |
BB |
HR |
|
USF - Savarese |
3 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
|
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| |
TAMPA ? Junior right fielder Tara Toscano singled home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give the University of South Florida a 4-3 victory over Florida Gulf Coast and the 2009 Louisville Slugger Tournament Championship.
“I just wanted to put the ball in play and give the team a chance,” said Toscano, who entered the game in the in fifth inning.
In the Bulls half of the seventh with score knotted at three, USF would load the bases with nobody ou. Britta Giddens reached on a bunt single followed by a walk to Gina Kafalas and a Alison Savarese bunt single, her third hit of the day.
After back-to-back force outs at home plate, Toscano came to plate with two outs and facing a 0-2 count. She slapped a pitch out in front of home plate and the FGCU catcher could not make the play on the USF speedster, allowing Savarese to plate the winning run.
With the win the Bulls improve their record to 4-1 on the young season. The win also marks, the Bulls first win over FGCU.
“We talked about the fact that you win championships on Sunday,” said USF softball head coach Ken Eriksen. “All the things you do leading up to today, you have to take advantage of. I thought our kids did a great job of putting behind a lot of today's battles. One, the fact that we hadn't beat Gulf Coast. Two, the fact we had a brand-new team playing against a veteran team and three, I thought we didn't take advantage of a couple early opportunities. Through all that, I thought we battled really well and put ourselves in a position to win the game.
The Bulls looked impressive right out of the gates, shutting down FGCU's most potent offensive weapons. Junior catcher Cat Olnick gunned out FGCU's Jessica Gary attempt to steal second. Gary had five stolen bases in the tournament coming into the game.
Senior hurler Cristi Ecks continued the trend as she struck out FGCU's top hitter, Cheyenne Jenks, in her first at bat. Jenks had hit two home runs tourney action.
“Cristi Ecks did a great job getting us started off,” added Eriksen.
Ecks, making her second start of the season, was solid going four innings and striking out four.
FGCU threaten to take a lead in the first, but a combination on Ecks on the mound and stellar Bulls defense would stomp the threat. After Giddens diving attempt to catch a flare down the right field line off the bat of Samantha Waldron, it ricocheted off her glove, allowing Waldron to advance to second with one out. A single up single up the middle by Desiree Miller, freshman centerfielder Janine Richardson fired the ball in to hold Waldron at third and put runners on first and third with one out, but Ecks struck out the next batter for the second out. Giddens would make a nice play to end the threat and the inning.
In the fourth, Savarese made a crucial stop at third by snaring a liner and tagging out the runner to force a double-play to end the inning.
After making a big play in the field, the Seminole, Fla. native then made her presence known at the plate. The junior third baseman gave the Bulls the lead by blasting her first home run of the season over the left field to give the Bulls a 1-0 win.
In the FGCU fifth, the Eagles put two on the board to take the lead, 2-1. With runners on first and second, a single by Lindsey Green allowed Platt to cross home and even the score. Then a single up the middle by Paez allowed the Eagles to put another across and go ahead, 2-1.
But the Bulls would respond in the bottom of the inning. Junior JoJo Medina would drive a pitch to off the center field wall, but would be held to a single. The shot did allow Giddens, who reached on a fielder's choice, to score from first, to tie the game up at two apiece. After an error by the FGCU second baseman, freshman Gina Kafalas showed her speed by scoring from second base and putting the Bulls, 3-2.
But the Eagles would not go away as Jessica Carter's homer to lead off the sixth tied the game at three a piece.
Facing the meat of the FGCU lineup in the seventh, it looked like the Eagles would take a 4-3 lead. Gary, who stole second then reached third on a throwing error, scored on Waldron's sac fly to left, but coach Eriksen appealed the play. It was determined that Gary left early, which ended the inning with the score still tied.
Freshman Candace Howell was the pitcher of record for the Bulls as the right-hander from Bartow, Fla. registered her first career win. She pitched the final 2.2 innings, striking out four on the afternoon. The win evens her record to 1-1 on the season.
“What can you say about the freshman,” said Eriksen. “Candace did an outstanding job this weekend. We found out that our freshman pitchers are going to be able to compete at a very high level and the rest of our freshman class will be able to compete as they continue to gain confidence with more playing time.”
The Bulls will return to action next weekend when they host the USF Wilson Tournament. Illinois, Arizona, Marshall and Hofstra will be joining USF, Feb. 13-15.
