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STORRS, CONN. - It took an extra inning to get things accomplished, but the 18th-ranked University of South Florida softball team set another record in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at the University of Connecticut.
The Bulls (39-5 overall, 12-0 Big East) rallied in the eighth after losing an earlier 2-0 lead, scoring four late runs to pick up a 6-2 win and nab their 12th consecutive Big East win to start the conference season - the team's best start in school history.
Senior outfielder Janine Richardson went 3-4 at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in two, including the eventual game-winner in the eighth. Richardson homered in the second, singled and scored in the fourth, then singled with the bases loaded in the eighth, driving in Gina Kafalas from third.
Kourtney Salvarola followed Richardson's RBI single with a chopper up the middle to score Stephanie Medina, and finished the day 2-4 with two RBI as well.
USF jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but UCONN challenged Sara Nevins through the first four innings, stranding eight runners in that timeframe. In the fifth, the Huskies finally broke free, stringing together three consecutive singles up the middle to tie the game at two.
Lindsey Richardson came on in relief in the sixth, and pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief, shutting down the streaking Huskies, striking out three of the six batters she faced to pick up her seventh win of the year. Nevins reentered in a non-save situation in the eighth to finish off the Bulls' 19th consecutive win.
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