CLEARWATER, FLA., MARCH 7, 2015 – The USF softball team stayed perfect in the month of March with two more wins on Saturday at the Under Armour Showcase in Clearwater.
The Bulls shutout Toledo, 5-0, in their first game of the day before coming from behind for a 5-3 win over Mercer in the tournament finale.
With the two wins, head coach Ken Eriksen moves within one victory of becoming only the 22nd active coach with 800 career wins. He is already the all-time leader in wins of any coach in any sport in the history of USF athletics.
GAME 1: USF 5, Toledo 0
Monica Santos continued her hot hitting to help lead the Bulls past Toledo (6-11) in game one of Saturday's doubleheader in Clearwater.
Santos went 2-for-2 with an RBI in the game and entered the second game of Saturday's doubleheader 7-for-7 with a sacrifice bunt and a walk in her previous nine plate appearances.
The junior from Tampa drove in the Bulls' first run of the game with a triple to deep center field in the second inning. Freshman Cassidy Boyle drove in her second run of the season one batter later to score Santos from third and give USF a 2-0 lead.
Freshman standout Astin Donovan posted her second straight three-RBI game thanks to a bases-clearing triple to put the Bulls ahead 5-0 in the fourth inning.
Eight of the Bulls' nine starters recorded a hit in the win while Erica Nunn and Susan Wysocki combined to throw the seventh shutout this season for USF.
Wysocki threw six scoreless innings in relief, surrendering only one hit en route to picking up her third win this season.
GAME 2: USF 5, Mercer 3
USF had to come from behind to win its second game of the day, defeating Mercer 5-3, to earn its seventh victory in five days.
The Bears (13-12) jumped on USF early with two runs in the first after back-to-back RBI singles by Riley Carter and Natalie Shiver.
The Bulls bounced right back with two runs of their own to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Kristen Wyckoff singled to start the frame and scored all the way from first on a single up the middle by D'Anna Devine one batter later. Devine came around to score on a passed ball later in the inning to tie the game at two.
The offense kept rolling in the third with another two runs to take a 4-2 lead. Astin Donovan's two-out single started the rally and she stole her seventh base of the season to advance to second. Wyckoff brought her home with another single and came around to score on the same play after Mercer sailed a throw into right field trying to catch her at second base.
Donovan drove in a run of her own with a single in the third to score Lauren Evans and give USF a 5-3 lead. Evans doubled earlier in the inning to extend her on-base streak to 18 consecutive games.
“Our kids were pretty relentless, being down 2-0, coming back, answering the bell then putting two more on the board in the second,” head coach Ken Eriksen said.
Mercer got a run back in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Kaylynn Sloat to cut the deficit to two and end Karla Claudio's scoreless innings streak at 14 1/3.
Despite giving up the homer, Claudio had another fantastic outing, pitching 6 1/3 innings while striking out a career-high seven batters to improve to 4-2 on the season.
Wyckoff, Donovan and Devine all had two hits and an RBI as the Bulls improved to 14-1 this year when outhitting their opponent.
“We're getting comfortable with each other and realizing where the roles are and what we're about in certain parts of the lineup with speed in the beginning, speed at the end, people moving the ball in the middle and playing really good defense,” Eriksen said.
USF is back in action on Tuesday, March 10 with a doubleheader against Maine and Yale back 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 –
