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CLEARWATER, Fla. - The University of South Florida got some late game heroics to knock off N.C. State, 8-6 and move to 4-0 on the season.
It was a total team effort in the win, with a total of four pitchers seeing action, and was capped by a seventh inning save by freshman Sara Nevins.
Nevins, who recorded 13 strikeouts in her first career start earlier in the day against Florida Gulf Coast, came in to close out the seventh to preserve the 8-6 victory.
Six different Bulls collected hits in the winning effort, led by Kourtney Salvarola who collected a pair of hits and two RBI, including a inside-the-park home run, which turned out to be the game winner.
Stormi Grzybeck and Ashli Goff each picked up a pair of hits, with Grzybeck driving in two, and each scoring a run in the winning effort.
Janine Richardson drove in a pair and went 1-3 on the night including a run scored.
It didn't look good early on, as the Wolfpack came out and hung a two-spot on the Bulls in the top of the first inning off of Brittany Bowles on a pair of hits, but Bowles was able to limit the damage by getting out of a bases loaded jam on a ground ball out to second.
The N.C. State lead would not last long, as the Bulls' bats came alive in their half of the first. Gina Kafalas led things off with a walk, and scored on a triple by Salvarola down the right field line. Janine Richardson then singled up the middle to bring in Salvarola and knot the game at 2-2. After Erin Bly singled down the right field line, both Bly and Richardson came in to score on a double by Grzybeck. Ashli Goff finished the scoring in the first by driving in Grzybeck to put USF up 5-2 through one.
N.C. State tied things up at 5-5 in the third, chasing Bowles from the game, but the Bulls took the lead back in the bottom half of the third on a RBI double play off the bat of Laura Fountain.
The Wolfpack collected three hits in the top of the fourth to knot the game at 6-6, Salvarola's inside-the-park homer gave the Bulls a lead they would not relinquish.
USF added an insurance run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Janine Richardson, and Nevins shut the door after replacing Capri Catalano in the seventh.
The win moved the Bulls to 4-0 on the season heading into their matchup with No. 6 Florida on Sunday. USF and Florida are the only two undefeated remaining in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament, which concludes on Sunday.
