TAMPA, MARCH 28, 2015 – Karla Claudio had one of the most dominant days at the plate in USF history with three home runs and nine RBIs as the Bulls won both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Tulsa in dramatic, come-from-behind fashion at the USF Softball Stadium.
The senior from San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico crushed three monster home runs, including a grand slam in the seventh inning of game one to send it to extra innings and a walk-off bomb to give USF (30-10, 2-2) the win in game two.
“Claudio was seeing the ball well last week. I thought she had some great at-bats against Houston and we need somebody behind Spivey to protect her, so I think right now Claudio has won that job,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
It was the first two losses in American Athletic Conference play for Tulsa (20-12, 3-2) after sweeping Memphis last weekend.
GAME 1: USF 8, Tulsa 7 (10 Inn.)
The Bulls used an incredible comeback to top Tulsa in extra innings during game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
USF rallied for six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, capped off by a game-tying grand slam by Karla Claudio to extend the game to extras.
The Golden Hurricane jumped out to an early lead in the first inning thanks to a two-out rally that was aided by three straight walks, including one with the bases loaded. With the bases still loaded, Maddie Withee hit a bloop single to left field that scored two more runs to make it 3-0.
USF got on the board in the fifth after an RBI double by Monica Santos that allowed D'Anna Devine to score from second after she reached with a leadoff single.
Tulsa looked to take a commanding lead with a four-run fifth inning that increased the lead to 7-1. Catherine Horner doubled in a run before Julie Kernen hit a three-run homer to left-center field to give the Golden Hurricane a six-run lead.
Four consecutive singles in the bottom of the seventh started the Bulls' furious comeback. Astin Donovan and Devine had infield singles to begin the frame and Juli Weber singled to left center to score Donovan one batter later.
Santos drove in her second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to score Devine, and Lee Ann Spivey drew a walk to load the bases with one out and set the stage for Claudio. With a 0-1 count, Claudio hammered a ball to left-center field for her first-career grand slam to tie the game at seven. It was her first home run of the year and third of her career.
“I really wasn't thinking about anything … I was just trying to swing the bat and get the barrel to the ball. I like to win so that's what I was trying to do,” Claudio said.
After two scoreless innings for each team, the Bulls completed the improbable comeback win in the bottom of the 10th. Donovan reached on an infield single with one out and moved into scoring position by stealing second with Devine at the plate. The senior from Morrisville, Pa., came up with one of the biggest hits of the season with a walk-off single to give the Bulls an 8-7 victory. Devine registered a career-high four hits and also scored two runs in the win.
Donovan also had a big day at the plate, posting a career high with three hits while also tying a career high with two runs.
Susan Wysocki picked up the win after pitching 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing only one hit to improve to 7-0 on the year.
“I thought Susan came in and did a fabulous job of knocking down Tulsa, who swings the bat real well, to give us the opportunity to win the ballgame,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
With the win, USF improved to 20-1 all-time in conference home openers and 19-0 under Eriksen.
GAME 2: USF 7, Tulsa 6
Karla Claudio was the hero again in game two of the afternoon after hammering a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to complete the second comeback of the day for the Bulls.
The senior jumped all over the first pitch she saw from Tulsa's Caitlin Sill and rocketed it over the left-field fence for her third homer and ninth RBI of the day.
“Game two, oh my gosh you're down 6-1 again and then all of a sudden the end of the day comes along and it's like Lake Nirvana with the big hits and the home runs and the whole deal,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
The Bulls jumped out to an early lead thanks to a sacrifice fly by Claudio in the top of the first but quickly fell behind in the second. The Golden Hurricane tied the game on a sacrifice fly by Kaitlin Allen and took a 2-1 lead one batter later after a passed ball.
Tulsa added four more runs in the third inning to go up 6-1. Erica Sampson hit an RBI triple to right center and Tulsa scored three more times on a fielder's choice and two singles.
However, the Bulls battled back once again with four runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Lee Ann Spivey drove in her team-leading 43rd run of the year to make 6-2, and Claudio followed that with her second home run of the afternoon, this one a three-run shot over the left-field fence to pull USF within one run heading into the sixth inning.
Still trailing by a run heading into the seventh, USF came up clutch again. Kassandra Moeller started the rally with a leadoff double to center field and came around to score on a throwing error by Tulsa's catcher to tie the game at six with no outs.
Later in the inning, Claudio came back around to bat and wasted no time sending the crowd and dugout into a frenzy, blasting her third homer of the day to send the Bulls home winners for the second time on the afternoon.
“We like to win. Coach gave me the opportunity to hit today and I didn't want to let my team down,” Claudio said after going 2-for-2 with five RBIs in game two.
Erica Nunn was dominant in relief, throwing 4.1 scoreless innings while tying a season high with 10 strikeouts en route to earning her eighth win this season.
The Bulls will look to earn the series sweep over the Golden Hurricane tomorrow at 11 a.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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