TAMPA (March 24, 2018) – USF defeated UConn, 8-2, to improve to 2-0 in The American. The Bulls got an early lead in the first inning with a pair of singles, and sophomore
Brooke Hartman sealed the win with a 3-RBI shot over the center field fence in the bottom of the sixth.
USF (24-13, 2-0) slammed nine hits for eight runs against UConn (13-18, 0-2) in the second game of the series. Hartman (Port Orange, Fla.) batted in the first run when she grounded out to the shortstop, and
Lindsey Devitt (Jacksonville, Fla.) hit an RBI single to left center for the second run of the first inning.
The Bulls took a 4-0 lead after the second frame when senior
Lauren Evans (Land O' Lake, Fla.) RBI singled, and made it home on a double by senior
Astin Donovan (Guilford, Conn.). The Huskies put up one run on one hit and two errors in the third inning, and added another run in the fifth, but they couldn't catch the Bulls and Hartman topped off the victory with her home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Junior
Cheyenne Eggens (Vienna, Ohio) struck out six batters in 6.1 innings allowing just three hits and three walks. She earned the win to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Quotable
Head coach Ken Eriksen on the win…
"UConn is a tough team with good pitching. They give you a different look with each arm that goes out into the circle. I thought our guys did a nice job today with the adjustments from their righty to their lefty. We have to continue doing what we're doing, stay the course and keep your posture and don't get crazy. Don't worry about what the pitcher is doing, worry about you. If we can do that, then we can adapt to a lot of different teams."
"Today was a typical fast pitch softball game. Lauren lead off the game with a walk, Astin Donovan slaps her over with a base hit to try and get the defense going crazy and then Cassidy Boyle puts down a beautiful sacrifice bunt to get runners on second and third. Brooke gets jammed a little bit but gets it up the middle where Evans is on a ball angle play so she scores. So, if we can do those type of things and manufacture runs like that then you don't have to rely on the home runs and the big, big hits. If you can make things happen like that and put the pressure on the other team early like that, it's nice when you jump out ahead so you don't have to run uphill, and you can run downhill and put more pressure on them."
Key Stat
3 – Astin Donovan was perfect at the plate and had three hits for the third time this season
Notable
Up Next
USF series against UConn will continue with games tomorrow at 11 a.m.
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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.
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