TAMPA (Feb. 11, 2018) – Senior Amber Atkinson capped off her two-RBI day with a homer after Macy Cook used the long ball to put USF ahead in a 14-3 loss to No. 2 Florida on Sunday evening.  

The Bulls (4-1) took the over the Gators in the second inning, when Cook, a junior, hit a solo shot deep to left-center for her first homer as a Bull.

Junior Samantha Worrell (Uniontown, Ohio) and Atkinson (Citrus, Fla.)  followed in subsequent innings with an RBI single and another home run to cap off USF's top offensive moments of the game. Atkinson had an impressive performance going 2-for-2 with a double and a home run.
Quotable

Head coach Ken Eriksen on the offense…
"We were hitting the ball well all weekend. We faced some pretty good pitching from Illinois State, Michigan and Florida today. Florida has one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. So, I was pretty happy with the offense overall. I thought we had some pretty good approaches to the plate. Any time you're knocking out three runs against a team like that, it's pretty good stuff. The majority of the time, you win games like that."

On the defense…
"We just have to get a little more competitive in certain situations defensively. We were extending innings with counts, we were extending innings with plays we should have made. It's kind of tough to play ball that way against good teams, but it was a good learning experience."

On the weekend…
"I told the guys, 'Don't let today diminish what we did this weekend.' I think if you go against the schedule that we did and come out 4-1, that's really good. That team today you just have to play flawlessly."

On what's next…
"It's how we come out to practice on Tuesday, that's imperative part of what's going to happen next week. We have a doubleheader on Wednesday, and I think five games in three days over the weekend. It's the things we do in practice that are going to matter the most."

Notable

• USF is 4-1 after opening weekend
• USF downed Illinois State, Georgia State, UAB and No. 18 Michigan in the first three days of the Wilson DeMarini tournament
• USF had 10 extra-base hits in its debut weekend, including three home runs.

Up Next 
USF hits the road for the first time this season to take on FGCU in a Valentine's Day doubleheader that will begin Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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.