TAMPA, MARCH 13, 2015 – The Bulls kept rolling on Friday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Iowa State and Boston University to kick off play at the Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament and extend their winning streak to 15 games.
USF (23-7) benefitted from strong performances in the circle by Erica Nunn and Karla Claudio in a 2-0 shutout over the Cyclones before exploding for eight runs in the fifth during an 8-0 run-rule victory over the Terriers later in the afternoon.
Thanks to solid pitching efforts from Nunn, Claudio and Sam Greiner, USF lowered its staff ERA to 0.72 in March. Bulls' pitchers are 13-0 this month and have posted five shutouts during the winning streak.
GAME 1: USF 2, Iowa State 0
Erica Nunn tossed five hitless innings and the Bulls extended their winning streak to 14 with a 2-0 victory over Iowa State (13-9) on Friday afternoon.
Nunn (6-4) struck out a pair of batters in five innings of work while lowering her earned run average to 1.99. The junior left-hander gave up two hits in the sixth before Karla Claudio picked up her team-leading fifth save of the season. The senior right-hander from Puerto Rico struck out two batters in two scoreless frames.
“I felt pretty comfortable and my defense behind me made really good plays, so I can't ask for anything more than that,” Nunn said.
USF got 2-for-3 performances at the plate from senior D'Anna Devine and junior Lee Ann Spivey, who put the Bulls on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the first inning.
USF sent seven batters to the plate during a two-run first inning that included more production from some of the Bulls' hottest hitters. Spivey posted her team-leading 35th RBI of the season with a single and Monica Santos drove in another run with a sacrifice bunt.
“We had some really clutch execution in the first inning and you can win a ballgame with a lot of suicide squeezes and moving runners, and we did that, that's part of our game,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
- Tom Zebold (USF Senior Writer)
GAME 2: USF 8, Boston University 0 (5 Inn.)
USF exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to blow past Boston University (4-15) and extend its winning streak to 15 games.
Mia Fung got the inning started by reaching on an error and the Bulls finished the frame with eight hits after coming into the inning with just one.
Astin Donovan extended her hit streak to 10 games with an RBI single to get the scoring started and five consecutive hits followed as the Bulls built a seven-run lead in a matter of minutes.
“This team is showing that they can score in bunches. To throw eight up on the board again in one inning, I think we've done that a couple times this year so it's exciting,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
D'Anna Devine and Veronica Gajownik had back-to-back RBI singles before Lee Ann Spivey drove in another run with a double off the left-field fence.
That brought the Bulls' hottest hitter, Monica Santos, to the plate with two runners on and she launched a three-run bomb to left field for her second home run of the season. Santos, a junior infielder from Tampa, is batting a team-best .583 in March with six extra-base hits and nine RBIs.
In her second at-bat of the inning, Fung doubled to left-center field and scored one batter later on a double to right center by Kenya Yancy to bring the eight-run rule into effect and end the game.
Senior pitcher Sam Greiner (7-1) had one of her best starts of the season, giving up only two hits while earning a complete game shutout.
Devine led the Bulls with three total hits and also scored two runs on the afternoon while continuing to impress Eriksen.
“The one person right now that I don't think is getting a lot of publicity for us but has been the glue for our entire program right now this year has been D'Anna (Devine),” Eriksen said. “She's just been a consummate team player and she gets it.”
USF would tie the second longest winning streak in program history with two more wins tomorrow. The Bulls have a doubleheader against Green Bay and Towson in Clearwater at the Eddie C. Moore Complex with first pitch set for 4:15 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.
- #GoBulls –
