Spartans Remain Perfect on Saturday's with Sweep of Panthers

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa Spartans and the Florida Tech Panthers wrapped up their three-game series on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader. In game one, four runs were scored between the two teams in the first inning but it took 9 innings for the game to be decided as UT walked off for the 3-2 win. The second game ended in seven but also in favor of the Spartans as they completed the sweep with a 6-1 victory to remain perfect on Saturday's.  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 3 (W: Miner 5-1), Florida Tech 2 (L: Pence 7-4 ) 
Records: Spartans (10-2, 4-1 SSC), Panthers (10-7, 0-2 SSC)
Location: Naimoli Family Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads Florida Tech in the all-time series with 49 wins to 39 losses.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Top 1st Inning: Florida Tech took no time in opening the scoring as they saw two runs cross home plate to give them a short-lived 2-0 lead.

Bottom 1st Inning: Tampa did not take long to respond to the strike by FIT as Taylor Farrell singled to third base and came around to score on a triple by Bre Setree down the left field line to cut the deficit in half. Makaleigh Dooley tied the game with a sacrifice fly to shallow left field that allowed Setree to come in to score. 

Bottom 9th Inning: Despite both teams best efforts to get a third run and the lead, both pitchers tossed seven scoreless innings. UT would not be denied the victory however as Corynn Miner walked to start the bottom half of the inning. She moved to second on a bunt single by Elly Pillers that put the winning run in scoring position. Jennie Sittloh loaded the bases with a bunt single of her own with still nobody out. Alex Walton and Taylor Szostak came in to replace Pillers and Sittloh respectively. The Panthers brought in relief pitcher Amanda Kahn and she got the first out on a fielder's choice with the force out being taken at home. Shelby Press came on and took advantage of the situation to end the game with a single back up the middle that scored Walton.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Miner tossed all nine innings, allowing just the two runs to go with three hits and four strikeouts. 
• Press had gone 0-3 prior to her at bat but saved her hit for the most crucial segment of the game. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The triple in the first inning by Setree extended her streak of reaching base to 12 games.
• The Spartans have now won five in a row, all five being conference games after taking the final two at Rollins last weekend. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 6 (W: Dooley 6-1), Florida Tech 1 (L: Kahn 3-2 ) 
Records: Spartans (11-2, 5-1 SSC), Panthers (10-8, 0-3 SSC)
Location: Naimoli Family Stadium | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads Florida Tech in the all-time series with 50 wins to 39 losses.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Bottom 3rd Inning: Press opened the inning by putting down a bunt and beating the throw for a single. Sahrina Cortes also laid down a bunt and the FIT third baseman rushed the throw to first for an error that allowed Press to come all the way around to score and Cortes to reach third. T.Farrell brought in Cortes on a double to right field, going opposite direction of how Florida Tech had tried to play her, as the centerfielder and right fielder had shifted towards the left side. Brooke Stiles came in as a pinch-runner and scored on a double through the right side by Setree. Setree advanced to third on a groundball by Dooley and scored on a single to right field by Pillers to give UT a 4-0 lead. 

Bottom 5th Inning: The Spartans added an insurance run in the bottom half as Jennie Sittloh hit a double to left field that scored Dooley who had singled to open the inning.

Bottom 6th Inning: UT added their final run of the weekend as Stiles recorded her first collegiate hit on a single and came across to score on Setree's second triple of the day. 

Top 7th Inning: The Panthers were fighting to extend the game but were only able to bring one run in before Dooley closed the door and won her second game of the weekend against the Panthers. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Dooley gave up just the single run in 6.1 innings of work as she spread out four hits and struck out three more batters. 
• Sittloh had a perfect day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with 1 RBI. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• After having no triples coming into this game, Setree added two. She also added a double in the game to bring up her extra base hits total to four.
• UT has now reached double digits in hits in seven games this season, including four of the last five.
• Pillers has now hit safely in a team-leading nine streak games. 

UP NEXT:

Tampa will hit the road once again as the team travels to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on the Lynn University Fighting Knights for a three-game SSC series. The opener is scheduled for Friday, March 3rd at 3 p.m. and the series will conclude with a Saturday doubleheader with first pitch set for 12 p.m. Live stats and video will be available on TampaSpartans.com

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