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By: Tom Zebold
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - Sara Nevins put the finishing touches on a very special Saturday at USF softball stadium.
The star left-hander was one out away from a perfect game and wound up with a two-hit shutout to help the No. 18 Bulls defeat St. John's, 6-0, and complete a series sweep before a crowd of 633 on Military Day.
Nevins (22-2) came into the weekend with the top ERA in the country and certainly helped her cause Saturday by striking out 12 while pitching into only two three-ball counts.
"Coach always says get first-pitch strikes, so that was good," said Nevins, who threw only 93 pitches in her 11th complete game of the season.
USF (36-5, 9-0) remained perfect in Big East play, has won 16 straight and is 23-2 at home after getting solid performances at the plate as well. Gina Kafalas went 2-for-3 with a three-run triple in the sixth that gave Nevins a lot of breathing room. Alexis Nowell went 2-for-2 with an RBI.
The Bulls started rocking at the plate in the bottom half of the fourth. Stephanie Medina led off with a walk, pinch runner Ilaura Reeves stole second and Kenshyra Jackson sent her home with a double off the wall in left field.
The biggest bang from the Bulls' bats came in a five-run sixth inning that was highlighted by Kafalas three-run triple that capped off the scoring. USF produced all five runs with two outs and it started with an RBI singles by Laura Fountain and Nowell before Kafalas cleared the bases with a drive to right-center.
"I don't feel pressured or anything when it's a close game, but it's good to know that you can have a little bit of leeway," Nevins said.
Nevins locked back in after a long wait on the bench and got a boost when shortstop Kourtney Salvarola snagged a lie drive toward second base for the first out of the seventh. Nevins struck out the next batter and had Kacee Cox down to her last strike before she lined a double to right-center to spoil the perfect game.
"Twenty-eight strikeouts in three days isn't a bad performance against a pretty good team," head coach Ken Eriksen said.
Nevins got a standing ovation after her final pitch and there were many more before the first pitch was thrown because of the military message during Saturday's game.
The USSOCOM Honor Guard presented colors and Airman First Class Heather Leaper sang the National Anthem.
USSOCOM Wounded Warrior-Hospital Corpsman Chief Petty Officer Holly Crabtree threw out the first pitch, along with Major General Luis R. Visot, the executive director of the Joint Military Science Leadership Center at USF. The Bulls also supported the cause by sporting special Under Armour camouflage jerseys.
"There was a lot of pride out there today. The pregame stuff was pretty emotional," said Erikson, who has three players that come from families with military backgrounds.
The Bulls will look to stay perfect in Big East play at 1p.m. on Wednesday when they begin a doubleheader against Providence.
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