GAME 2:

CLEARWATER- Down 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the USF softball team came back to knock off Central Michigan in walk-off fashion, 4-3 on Saturday afternoon.

The Bulls trailed 3-1 in the fifth and 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, but got a walk-off single from senior transfer Erin Bly to take their second win of the day. 

Listen to the call from BullsVision's Tyler Crane as Erin Bly gives USF the walk-off win.

Freshman Stephanie Medina, who went 2-for-4 in the win, tied the game at 3-3 in the seventh with an RBI single scoring Ashli Goff.

Bly then ripped a 3-1 pitch to the gap in right-center to start the Bulls' walk-off celebration.

The Bulls got another great performance from Sara Nevins who pitched the complete seven innings earning 10 strikeouts while only making one mistake. Nevins allowed just three hits, but one of which was a two-out, three-run home run in the fourth which broke the scoreless tie and put the Bulls behind.

The freshman did not allow another run, and the Bulls were able to claw their way back with some timely hitting late.

Janine Richardson let the charge offensively, finishing the game 2-for-3 from the plate with a walk and a pair of runs scored, one of which was the game-winning run in the seventh.

Medina, who gave the Bulls life in the last of the seventh, collected a pair of hits to go along with the game-tying RBI.

Both offenses were quiet until Nevins allowed the three-run bomb in the top half of the fourth, but the Bulls answered right back.

Richardson got it started with a one-out single followed by a long-single off the wall in center by Medina which advanced Richardson to third. With a dash of foreshadowing, Bly got a hold of an inside pitch and flew out to foul ground in right allowing Richardson to tag and cut the Chippewa lead to 3-1 through four.

The Bulls manufactured another run the very next inning. Alexis Nowell drew a walk to begin the fifth and was replaced by the speedy Courtney Goff and first. Gina Kafalas laid down a perfect sacrifice which moved the runner to second, and Ashli Goff moved her twin sister to third with a well-placed groundout to the right side. Salvarola then got the job done by singling through the right side to score Goff and cut the deficit to 3-2 after five.

After a quiet top of the sixth, the Bulls got runners on second and third with two outs and looked poised to tie the game or take the lead, but Kafalas, a groundball hitter, popped one up on the infield to end the threat.

Nevins got through the top of the seventh unscathed setting up the magical bottom of the seventh. Ashli Goff hit a slow-roller back to the pitcher, but she was not able to handle it allowing the swift Goff to reach base. Salvarola then executed a sacrifice bunt putting the potential tying run in scoring position. After the Chippewas intentionally walked Richardson, Medina made them pay with the game-tying single, and Bly sent them paking with a shot into the right-center gap, giving the Bulls their second win of the day.

USF will take on No. 1 Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla.

GAME 1:

CLEARWATER- The University of South Florida softball team defeated UW-Green Bay 5-0 on Saturday in the first of two games on the day. 

Capri Catalano highlighted the win, having her best outing of the year so far as she pitched 5.0 innings of shutout ball allowing just three hits while striking out eight and only walking one in the win.

With the win, USF moved to 14-12 on the season and picked up their first win of the USF Under Armour Showcase.

The Bulls got production from up and down their order in the win, including a strong effort from freshman Kourtney Salvarola. Salvarola hit her fourth home run of the season aand finished the game 2-3 from the plate with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.

Fellow freshman Ashli Goff had a perfect day from the plate going 3-3 with a run scored, while junior Gina Kafalas set things up at the top of the order by collecting a pair of hits and scoring a run in the first.

Janine Richardson put together a quiet two hit game, going 2-2 from the plate with a run and an RBI while adding a walk.

Head coach Ken Eriksen had stressed the importance of winning the first inning, and against Green Bay, the Bulls did just that.

Catalano and the USF defense shut down Green Bay in the first with a 1-2-3 inning, and then went to work offensively.

The USF bats came alive early, scoring three of their five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Gina Kafalas had an infield single to start things off for the Bulls, and Salvarola drove Kafalas in when she singled, allowing USF to get on the board first, 1-0.

Center fielder Janine Richardson then drove in Ashli Goff, making the score 2-0. Up next for the Bulls was Stephanie Medina, who flied to center, scoring Richardson, and upping the score to 3-0. 

Catalano had a short second inning of work when she struck out the next three batters for the Phoenix.

In the bottom frame, Laura Fountain singled to lead off and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ilaura Reeves. Fountain advanced to third when Goff singled to shortstop. With runners on the corners, the Bulls tried to double-steal, but Fountain was thrown out trying to steal home. 

Catalano was perfect again in the top of the fourth, striking out two of the three batters. In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulls had two quick outs, but Kafalas kept USF alive when she reached first base on a bunt. Kafalas advanced while Goff was at bat when she stole second. Goff grounded to shortstop, but beat the throw and Kafalas tried to come home but got caught in a rundown between the third baseman and catcher.  

USF was able to add an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth as Salvarola ripped the first pitch of the inning over the wall in left to extend the Bulls' lead to 5-0 through five.

Sara Nevins replaced Catalano in the top of the sixth, and closed things out the rest of the way without surrendering a hit or a run.

The Bulls will get right back to work as the face off against Central Michigan in the second game of the day at 3 p.m.