TAMPA, MARCH 11, 2015 – Monica Santos continued her torrid pace in the month of March, leading USF (21-7) to two more wins on Wednesday night over Lehigh (9-3) and Georgetown (7-10).
The Bulls scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth in a come-from-behind win over the Mountain Hawks before blowing out the Hoyas in game two of Wednesday's doubleheader at the USF Softball Stadium.
USF has outscored opponents 67-17 and has scored five or more runs eight times during their current 13-game winning streak.
GAME 1: USF 4, Lehigh 2
Monica Santos' clutch, go-ahead hit helped the rallying Bulls extended their winning streak to 12 games with a 4-2 victory over Lehigh on Wednesday evening.
Down 2-1 with two outs in the sixth inning, Santos drove a two-run double to right-center field and USF padded its lead with an RBI single by Astin Donovan.
“I was so nervous, my heart was racing just being on deck,” Santos said. “We have yoga so our instructor teaches us 'ojjayi' and I was just thinking 'ojjayi, ojjayi' and it actually worked. After the first pitch in that at-bat I was relaxed and I just knew I needed to get the job done.”
USF also got a 2-for-3 performance out of D'Anna Devine (Morrisville, Pa.) while Lee Ann Spivey (Palm Coast, Fla.) got the scoring started with an RBI sacrifice bunt in the first inning.
Senior right-hander Karla Claudio improved to 6-2 after allowing two earned runs on two hits in 3 2/3 innings of relief. Claudio struck out three batters to extend her team-leading total to 57 in 50 2/3 innings this season.
- Tom Zebold (USF Senior Writer)
GAME 2: USF 10, Georgetown 2 (5 Inn.)
After an hour and 10 minute weather delay, the Bulls and Hoyas got underway in game two of the doubleheader.
Monica Santos led the charge once again for the Bulls at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. The junior from Tampa is now batting .600 in the month of March with 12 hits, six runs and five RBIs.
“I don't know what the heck happened in February but March 1 came along and it's Mo's month,” head coach Ken Eriksen said. “She practices so hard all the time and she really works on her hitting. The biggest thing for her is trying not to do more than she's capable of doing.”
Morgan Litchfield (Tampa, Fla.) also had two RBI singles and Lee Ann Spivey hit a towering three-run homer to move into sole possession of eighth place on the USF all-time home runs list with 20.
An error allowed Spivey to score to game's first run and Litchfield singled home Santos later in the inning to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead.
Georgetown tied the game in the top of the fourth after an error with the bases loaded allowed two runs to score.
USF retook the lead with an eight-run outburst in the bottom half of the fourth. Every player in the lineup reached base as the Bulls batted around in the inning.
“We're in a position right now where every time the other team scores, we're knocking them back right away. Today was a great example of that,” Eriksen said.
Santos, Litchfield and Kristen Wyckoff all had RBI singles and Cassidy Boyle scored on an error by the Hoyas' shortstop. Juli Weber followed that with an RBI bunt single before Spivey launched her team-leading sixth home run of the year over the left-field fence to make it 10-2 Bulls.
Sam Greiner got the start in the circle and threw 4 2/3 innings while allowing two unearned runs to improve to 6-1 on the season.
USF is back in action on Friday, March 13 with a doubleheader against Iowa State and Boston University at the USF Softball Stadium. First pitch is set for 1:45 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 –
