Spartans Open 2017 Season with a Saturday Sweep

CLEARWATER, FLA. - The University of Tampa softball team opened the 2017 campaign with a pair of matchups in the Eckerd Tournament. The Spartans took on the Eagles of Chadron State in the opener and faced off against the Eckerd College Tritons in the second game. The offense showed up in the first game as they grounded the Eagles and took an 8-1 victory in the season opener. UT took advantage of three one-run innings in the second game to defeat the Tritons 3-1 and move to 2-0 on the season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 8 (W: Corynn Miner, 1-0), Chadron State 1 (L: Megan Horn, 0-1)
Records: Tampa (1-0), Chadron State (0-3)
Location: Eddie C. Moore Field | Clearwater, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series over Chadron State with a 2-0 record.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Inning: It did not take long for the Spartans to get on the board as they took advantage of Maddie Farrell drawing a bases-loaded walk to give Tampa a 1-0 advantage and the lead they would not concede.

3rd Inning: The Eagles scored their lone run of the game as Taylor Bauer sent a shot past the fence in left field for a solo home run that tied the game at 1-1.

5th Inning: The Spartans reclaimed the lead for good as they put four runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Maddie Farrell got the scoring going as she singled home a run with Breanna Taphouse coming in from third. Elly Pillers knocked in the second run as she tallied a single of her own to score Makaleigh Dooley. Taylor Farrell singled into center field and allowed Alex Walton to come in and Shelby Press put the finishing touch on the inning as she brought Pillers in with a single to shortstop.

6th Inning: Tampa added three more runs in the bottom half as the offense kept firing. Miner reached on a single that brought Cristina Clauberg home and T.Farrell brought in two runs to complete the outing. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

•  Miner recorded her first win as a Spartan with just the one run given up while striking out nine and spreading six hits across seven innings for the complete game.
•  The Spartans hit starting pitcher Horn for five runs and relief pitcher Jarecki for three runs.
• UT drew seven walks during the game as they took advantage of having runners in scoring position to open up their lead.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 3 (W: Makaleigh Dooley, 1-0), Eckerd 1 (L: Nikole Van Gennep, 1-1) 
Records: Tampa (2-0), Eckerd (1-2)
Location: Eddie C. Moore Field | Clearwater, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series over Eckerd with a 78-18 record.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

 3rd Inning: Sahrina Cortes knocked in the first run of the game as she singled to left field and allowed Erica Matich to score.

4th Inning: M.Farrell singled to center field and brought home Miner to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.

5th Inning: The Tritons scored their lone run of the game as Emily Knox was brought home by Dana Paul singled to center field and cut the deficit in half for Eckerd.

6th Inning: Pillers recorded yet another single on the day for Tampa, this time right up the middle past the reach of the pitcher as Taphouse came in to score.

INSIDE THE STATS:

•  Dooley recorded seven strikeouts and gave up just the one run and held EC to four hits across the seven innings. 
• Pillers has now reached base on three of her six at bats and has also drawn one walk.
• Tampa drew three more walks against the Tritons and now has 10 walks this season.
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

•  For the second game in a row, UT scored first in the game and never trailed.
• All 11 runs that the Spartans scored on the day were RBI's. 
• Tampa was able to steal three bases as they kept the opposing pitchers on alert.

UP NEXT:

Tampa returns to action tomorrow afternoon as they will face off against the Eagles for the second time this weekend to wrap up their participation in the Eckerd Tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Clearwater, Fla.

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