TAMPA, FEB. 22, 2015 – The Bulls had a disappointing finish to the weekend, falling to No. 16/17 Auburn, 8-0, in Sunday's USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament championship game at the USF Softball Stadium.
Sophomore Juli Weber extended her hit streak to 13 games with a single in the first inning. The 2014 American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year has also reached base in all 15 games this season for the Bulls. Kristen Wyckoff, Morgan Litchfield and Monica Santos also posted hits for USF in the loss.
 |
| Team |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
R |
H |
E |
| USF |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
X |
X |
0 |
4 |
0 |
| Auburn |
2 |
0 |
6 |
0 |
X |
X |
X |
8 |
10 |
0 |
|
 |
Pitchers of Record
|
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
BB |
SO |
| W - Lexi Davis (8-0) |
5.0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
| L - Karla Claudio (1-2) |
2.0 |
7 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
| S - N/A |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
 |
| USF |
AB |
H |
R |
RBI |
BB |
| Monica Santos |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Auburn
|
AB |
H |
R |
RBI |
HR |
| Kasey Cooper |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
|
|
“I think we're getting there. We were doing a lot of uphill running the last three or four days and it can wear on you a little bit, especially when you're playing against a deep team with some tremendous talent in Auburn,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
USF (8-7) fell behind early after Auburn's Kasey Cooper hit a two-run homer to left center field in the bottom of the first inning.
Cooper gave the Bulls more trouble in the third inning, launching her second home run of the afternoon, this time a grand slam to center field that busted the game wide open.
Despite a leadoff double by Santos, the Bulls were unable to tack on a run in the fifth to keep the game going and fell to the Tigers (17-1) for the second time this weekend.
Despite the loss, Eriksen said he is pleased with the direction that his young team is heading after an extremely challenging start to the season that has already included games against five ranked opponents.
“The nice part is we're seeing that we can compete with teams for four, five and six innings, but we got to be able to compete with them for eight innings and get a W. After 15 games, against the schedule we've played right now, I wish we were playing tomorrow,” Eriksen said.
The next game for the Bulls will be Friday, Feb. 27 as they host Illinois to kick off the USF Under Armour Invitational. USF will also host George Southern on Friday at the USF Softball Stadium before traveling to Clearwater on Saturday and Sunday for three games at the Eddie C. Moore Complex. 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.
- #GoBulls –
