TAMPA, Feb. 21, 2024– The University of South Florida softball team welcomes five teams, including two top-10 teams, to the USF Softball Stadium for the South Florida Showdown this Thursday through Sunday.
 
On Thursday, the Bulls will go head-to-head with two top-10 teams, No. 4 Washington and No. 7 Oklahoma State. This is the first time since 2019 that South Florida will play two teams ranked in the top 10 on the same day. In 2019, South Florida played No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Arizona.
 
South Florida will also welcome Loyola-Chicago, Pitt, and Yale. The Bulls and Wolves will faceoff on Friday night, followed by a Saturday matinee with Pitt. South Florida will close out the weekend on Sunday morning with a game against Yale.  
 
Alanah Rivera (St. Petersburg) is currently on a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base in eight straight games. Bailey Drapola (Brookfield, Ohio) follows with a five-game hitting streak. Drapola has reached base in six straight games. 

Round Up for the Opponents
No. 4 Washington (7-1)*
Date: February 22 | 4 PM
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series vs. Washington: Washington leads, 2-1
Notable Information:

• Washington has a 7-1 record on the season, with a game at Stetson tonight.
• In 32 plate appearances, Carter Brooklyn leads the Huskies with a .438 batting average.
• In the circle, Ruby Meylan pitched two complete games with an ERA of 0.66 this season. She has retired 25 batters.  

No. 7 Oklahoma State (7-2)*
Date: February 22 | 6:30 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series vs. Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State leads, 8-2
Notable Information:

• The Cowgirls have a 7-2 record this season but also have a game against Stetson today.
• Lexi Kilfoyl has been the Cowgirls' go-to pitcher. In 19.1 innings, she has posted a 1.81 ERA and struck out 16 batters.
• At the plate, Tallen Edwards and Caroline Wang lead Oklahoma State with 12 hits so far this season.

Loyola-Chicago (5-1)
Date: February 23 | 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series vs. Loyola-Chicago: South Florida leads, 1-0
Notable Information:

• Loyola-Chicago enters the weekend with a 5-1 record, their only loss coming from No. 16 Florida last weekend.  
• Ava Bieneman leads Loyola-Chicago with a .353 batting average.
• In 20.1 innings, Peyton Pepkowski has retired 14 batters and has posted a 1.72 ERA.
   

Pitt (5-4)
Date: February 24 | 2 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series vs. Pitt: South Florida leads, 18-4
Notable Information:

• Pitt enters the weekend with a 5-4 record, all four losses coming against Ole Miss and LSU.
• Kat Rodriguez leads the Panthers with nine hits in 26 at-bats. She has hit two doubles and has four RBI.
• Olivia Stefanoni has retired 18 batters in her 17.1 innings pitched. She leads the Panthers in strikeouts thrown.

Yale (0-0)
Date: February 25 | 11:30 a.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Series vs. Yale: South Florida leads, 6-0
Notable Information:

• Yale will start its weekend at the South Florida Showdown.
• The Bulldogs finished the 2023 season with a 20-23 record, 11-10 in the Ivy League.

About USF Softball
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 17 NCAA tournament appearances, including a trip to the Women's College World Series in 2012.