TAMPA, MARCH 10, 2015 – The USF softball team (19-7) kept rolling on Tuesday night with a doubleheader sweep of Yale (0-2) and Maine (9-9) at the USF Softball Stadium.
Head coach Ken Eriksen reached another milestone in his illustrious career as he earned his 800th career victory in the Bulls first win of the day over the Bulldogs.
In typical fashion, Eriksen downplayed the achievement after the game.
“It means we won today … The 800, that is just part of the journey of what we're trying to do towards the end of the season.”
GAME 1: USF 6, Yale 1
The Bulls delivered Eriksen his 800th career victory by getting past Yale, 6-1, Tuesday evening.
USF's all-time wins leader among all sports became the 22nd active Division I softball coach to reach the impressive milestone. Eriksen, in his 19th year as USF's head coach, has an 800-407-1 overall record and has led the Bulls to the postseason 11 times. Eriksen has helped USF capture four conference titles and led the Bulls to the program's first Women's College World Series appearance in 2012.
USF extended its winning streak to 10 games after getting a career-high six strikeouts from right-hander Susan Wysocki (4-0). The redshirt freshman from Cherry Hill, N.J., scattered four hits and gave up an unearned run in five innings.
Monica Santos and Astin Donovan each collected two hits while Kristen Wyckoff scored two runs from the leadoff spot.
USF took advantage of two Yale errors during a four-run third inning that started with the Bulls applying the pressure on the base paths.
D'Anna Devine bunted for a single with runners on first and second while Donovan jetted home on a throwing error during the play. Lee Ann Spivey drove Wyckoff home with an RBI bunt single and Devine scored on a sacrifice bunt by Lauren Evans. Another Yale throwing error sent Spivey home with two outs.
Yale cut its deficit to 4-1 with an RBI single by Sydney Ginsberg in the top of the fourth before the Bulls plated two more in the bottom half of the inning. Spivey drove in her second run of the game while flying out to right field and Donovan also scored on the play thanks to another Yale throwing error.
Following Wysocki's exit, Erica Nunn and Sam Greiner preserved the victory by pitching a pair of scoreless innings. USF has given up an average of 1.2 runs per game with three shutouts during the winning streak.
- Tom Zebold (USF Senior Writer)
GAME 2: USF 8, Maine 2
The Bulls jumped all over the Black Bears in the second game of the day, scoring five runs in the first inning on their way to a 8-2 win and their 11th straight victory.
Back-to-back home runs by Lee Ann Spivey and Ta'coia Williams made it 4-0 in a matter of seconds and USF never looked back.
Spivey's three-run jack was her team-leading fifth of the season and 19th of her career, moving her into a tie for eighth on the USF all-time home runs list with current assistant coach Carmela Liwag. The junior from Palm Coast, Fla., finished the game 4-for-4 with three RBIs to bump her season total to a team-best 30.
“If those first three hitters can get on base there's a bunch of RBIs to be had. I think that's what Spivey eats, she eats RBIs,” Eriksen said.
Despite her big day Spivey was extremely humble after the win and implied that stats aren't everything.
“I actually don't look at stats, I think it's kind of bad luck,” Spivey said. “When people start playing the stat game they get in their heads too much rather than just going out and playing the game. If you're taking care of the game you're going to do well.”
Karla Claudio, the reigning American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, struck out four in 4 1/3 innings to improve to 5-2 on the season.
After Maine answered back with a run in the top of the second, the Bulls scored twice in the bottom of the inning on consecutive RBI singles by Lauren Evans and Veronica Gajownik to make it 7-1.
Kristen Wyckoff had an RBI groundout in the fifth to give USF its final run of the evening and make it 8-1 with two innings to play.
The Black Bears tacked on a run in the top of the seventh but were unable to continue the rally as Claudio got EmJ Fogel to pop up to shortstop to end the game.
Six different players had RBIs and eight different players recorded hits as the Bulls posted a season-high 14 in the game, the most since opening day against Hampton.
USF is back in action on Wednesday, March 11 with a doubleheader against Lehigh and Georgetown at the USF Softball Stadium. First pitch is set for 5 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.
- #GoBulls –
