TAMPA, FEB. 13, 2015 – Ken Eriksen's freshmen class continued to impress Friday on day one of the USF Presidents Day Weekend Tournament as the Bulls picked up two wins at the USF Softball Stadium.
Bulls' freshmen combined for eight RBIs on the day as USF defeated St. John's, 4-2, in game one and run-ruled Detroit, 8-0, in the final game of the day.
“They can play,” Eriksen said in regards to his freshmen class. “To be able to get them in the game and for them to come and produce right away shows that they're seasoned enough to start playing college ball.”
USF (5-2) jumped out to an early lead against the Red Storm, scoring a run in the first inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Lauren Evans that scored Kristen Wyckoff (Plant City, Fla.) from third. Wyckoff led the inning off with a single and stole second base before advancing to third on a bunt single by Juli Weber (Hegins, Pa.).
Bulls starting pitcher Erica Nunn worked out of a bases loaded jam in the second, getting Ellen Czuba to strike out swinging to end the inning and keep USF ahead 1-0.
Evans drove in her second run of the game in the third inning with her first-career triple that hit off the top of the wall in right center field to give USF a two-run lead. She would come home to score one batter later on a sacrifice fly by Lee Ann Spivey.
St. John's got on the board in the fourth with a pair of runs that were aided by two USF errors. Taylor Stimson scored from third on an error and Lauren Zick scored one batter later when Krystal Puga was hit with the bases loaded.
The Bulls added an insurance run in the six on another RBI triple by a freshman, this time Astin Donovan (Guilford, Conn.), as she roped a ball into left center to score fellow freshman Kenya Yancy (Bradenton, Fla.) on the play.
Senior pitcher Sam Greiner (Sparta, N.J.) came in to pitch four solid innings of relief to pick up her second win of the season.
USF jumped all over Detroit in game two of the day, scoring five runs in the first inning. The Bulls led off the frame with three consecutive singles from Donovan, Weber and Veronica Gajownik (Winter Park, Fla.) to load the bases before Spivey (Palm Coast, Fla.) got them on the board by drawing an RBI walk.
The freshmen stepped up again later in the inning to bust the game wide open as Yancy crushed a ball over the left center field fence for a grand slam to make it 5-0. It was Yancy's first-career home run and second-career hit as a Bull.
“I just felt like I needed to get the ball in play because we had three people on the bags, so I just needed to do something to move the runners around,” Yancy said of her grand slam at-bat.
Yet another freshman drove in a run in the second inning as Meredith Bissette's groundout scored Donovan to make it 6-0 and give Bissette her first-career RBI.
Wyckoff joined in on the hit parade in the third inning with a two-run triple, the third triple of the day for USF, to increase the lead to 8-0.
Susan Wysocki picked up her second win in as many starts this season, pitching a complete game shutout while giving up only four hits and striking out four.
USF will face two tough tests tomorrow as they take on No. 11/14 Tennessee and Fordham, both NCAA Tournament teams from last year.
“If we get through the first inning in any ballgame I think we have a great opportunity to win, so the job tomorrow is to try and keep those teams at zero for as long as possible,” Eriksen said.
First pitch for the Bulls' game against the Lady Vols is slated for 3:45 p.m., and game two against Fordham is tentatively scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. Purchase tickets HERE.
Be sure to follow USF softball on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. The USF softball program has been one of the most successful on campus, making 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Women's College World Series in 2012. The Bulls made their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament last season and posted their 14th season with 40 plus wins under head coach Ken Eriksen.
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