TAMPA, FLA., February 6, 2025- The University of South Florida softball team opened the 2025 season with a pair of wins over Delaware and Illinois State on Thursday at the USF Softball Stadium for the first day of the USF-Rawlings Invitational. The Bulls defeated the Blue Hens, 9-1 in six innings, before a comeback, 5-3, win over the Redbirds.
Game One | Delaware 1, South Florida 9
South Florida wasted no time getting on the board, scoring two runs in the first frame.
Olivia Elliott and
Alexa Galligani scored on two singles. A bases-loaded walk from
Alanah Rivera gave USF the 3-0 lead in the second inning.
After one scoreless frame from South Florida, Elliott started the fourth inning with her third hit, resulting in a ground-rule double.
Alex Wilkes hit a sacrifice to score in Elliot. Galligani helped extend the lead to 5-0 off a single by
Josie Foreman.
The Bulls allowed one run in the top of the sixth. However, South Florida shut the door on Delaware with a pair of runs highlighted by a game-winning RBI triple from pinch-hitter
Karhys Pierce in her first career at-bat.
The Bulls' win marked their first six-inning victory since their 13-1 win against Stetson on April 12, 2023.
Elliot led the way for the Bulls with a 4-for-4 performance and a career-high in hits. It is the first four-run game for a Bull since March 23, 2018, when Lauren Evans had a quadruple-hit performance against UConn. Elliot also became the first Bull with four hits in a game since Bethaney Keen amounted to four hits versus New Mexico State on March 10, 2021. Galligani finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in the 9-1 victory.
Game Two | Illinois State 3, South Florida 5
In the top of the first, left-handed Junior
Payton Dixon breezed through the top of Illinois State's order with a highlight reel lineout to
DaNia Brooks to end the half inning.
After a scoreless first, Illinois State tacked on three runs in the second inning to give the Redbirds the early 3-0 lead.
The Bulls responded big in the bottom of the fourth, beginning with an
Alex Wilkes leadoff double. Wilkes later scored off a
Camille Ortiz-Martinez RBI single to earn the Bulls their first run of the game.
Jamia Nelson added to South Florida's offensive output with a bases-loaded RBI double to tie the game at 3-3. Brooks and
Allana Consolazio came around to score to put the Bulls up 5-3 on a line drive to left by
Alexa Galligani.
In the final three innings, Dixon held the Redbirds scoreless, recording the last nine outs across 12 hitters, to earn the afternoon sweep for the Bulls. The complete game victory was Dixon's 20th of her career.
Notables
- The Bulls' win marked their first six-inning victory since their 13-1 win against Stetson on April 12, 2023.
- It is the Bulls' first 10+ hit performance since May 5, 2024, against UTSA (15 hits).
- Elliot earned the first four-run game for a Bull since March 23, 2018, when Lauren Evans had a quadruple-hit performance against UConn.
- Elliot became the first Bull with four hits in a game since Bethaney Keen amounted to four hits versus New Mexico State on March 10, 2021.
- Elliott set a career high with four hits against Delaware.
- Galligani tied a career-high in hits with three against Delaware.
- Pierce earned her first career hit and RBI with a triple to win the game against Delaware in her first career at bat.
- Dixon's complete game win against Illinois State marks her 20th career complete game.
Up Next
South Florida will continue the USF-Rawlings Invitational tomorrow with a 4:30 game against No. 22 Michigan..
About USF Softball
The South Florida 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. Under head coach Ken Eriksen, who enters his 28th season in 2025 and has accumulated 1,117 wins, ranking seventh among active DI head softball coaches, USF has produced 10 NFCA All-Americans, two USA Softball Top 10 Player of the Year, and one NFCA Pitcher of the Year. In 2022, Georgina Corrick became the first player in softball history to earn the NCAA Pitching Triple Crown. She led the nation in ERA (0.51), Victories (37), and total strikeouts (418).
Be sure to follow USF softball on social media (X / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
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