TAMPA - Jessica Mouse's first home run for the University of South Florida softball team was all the offense USF needed Saturday.

The senior third baseman golfed a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run home run - the first of four homers in the game for USF - and sophomore pitcher Sara Nevins extended her streak of innings without allowing an earned run to 51. 2 as the Bulls (22-5 overall) secured the 5-1 win over Northern Illinois Saturday at the Eddie C. Moore Softball Complex in Clearwater, Fla.

Mouse's blast was the only offense through five innings, as Nevins dueled with the Huskies' Jessica Sturm to a 2-1 lead through five and a half innings. Northern Illinois' only run coming as a USF error extended the inning in the sixth, allowing the Huskies to score on a bases-loaded hit batter.

USF responded kindly in the bottom of the sixth, pounding back-to-back-to-back blasts to lead off the inning, as Stephanie Medina, Kenshyra Jackson and Kourtney Salvarola all cleared the fence, giving Nevins a cushion to finish the game.

Nevins did so in grand fashion, striking out one and forcing two pop-ups for her 12th win of the season. Nevins struck out 11, allowing just four hits over seven innings of work.

The Bulls finished with seven hits, four of them blasts. It was Medina's third, Jackson's second and Salvarola's first of the year. Salvarola and senior outfielder Janine Richardson each had two hits.