Spartans Reel In Pair of Wins Over Sharks

TAMPA, Fla. –  The University of Tampa softball team concluded its regular season matchup with the Nova Southeastern University Sharks on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader. UT came out on top in the first game of the day as they won 4-3. The offense was back to its usual self in the final game of the series as they put up six runs on 11 hits to take the win and the series.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 4 (W: Makaleigh Dooley 12-1), Nova Southeastern 3 (L: Winter 4-3) 
Records: Spartans (18-4, 8-3 SSC), Sharks (11-13, 4-4 SSC)
Location: Naimoli Family Softball Field | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: UT now leads the all-time series 26-16.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

2nd Inning: The Spartans opened the scoring in the game as they saw three runs cross home plate. Dooley opened the inning with a single up the middle and moved to second on a bunt single to the pitcher by Elly Pillers. Dooley came home on a throwing error by the pitcher on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Corynn Miner who reached second on the play. Maddie Farrell drove in the second run of the game on a sacrifice fly to right field and on the next batter, Jennie Sittloh singled through the left side to bring in Miner.

5th Inning: Shelby Press opened the inning with a walk and quickly moved to second as she stole second base. Bre Setree singled to right field and advanced to second on the throw as Press moved to third. Breanna Taphouse came in to replace Setree as a pinch runner. Dooley hit a groundball back to the pitcher but the pitcher overthrew the first baseman and allowed Dooley to make it all the way to second and Press to score for the 4-0 lead.

6th Inning: The Sharks would not go down without a fight as they put up three runs on the board to snap the shutout and cut into the Tampa lead. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Dooley recorded three strikeouts, bringing her season total to 78. The sophomore pitcher has raised her strikeouts/7 innings pitched to just under six at 5.93.
• After being held hitless last night, Pillers was able to record a hit as well as score a run in this game.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The Spartans have now scored more runs in 22 games than they did in 39 games last season.
• A double by Sahrina Cortes in the first inning extended the streak with at least one extra-base hit to 17 games.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 6 (W: Miner 7-3), Nova Southeastern 0 (L:Storrer 7-7) 
Records: Spartans (19-4, 8-3 SSC), Sharks (11-14, 4-5 SSC)
Location: Naimoli Family Softball Field | Tampa, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa now has a 27-16 edge all-time over Nova Southeastern.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Inning: Tampa took no time in opening the score as they put two runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Cortes doubled to open the game just like she did in the first game of the day and came all the way around to score as Press laid down a bunt that the pitcher overthrew to first base and allowed the batter to make it to second. Press then moved over to third on a wild pitch and scored as Dooley singled to right field. 

3rd Inning: Setree opened the inning with a single to right field and after two outs were on the board, moved to second as Miner drew a walk. Lauren Pascoe replaced Setree at second and came around to score along with Miner as M.Farrell tripled to clear the bases. Sittloh drew the second walk of the inning to keep the inning going and Taylor Farrell drove in her sister with a single to left field. Cortes doubled to right center to bring in Sittloh as the final run of the inning and open a 6-0 lead.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Miner tossed her second shutout of the season as she held the Sharks to three runs across seven innings. 
• Cortes went 3 for 4 at the plate (all three hits being for extra bases) with 1 run and 1 RBI while her teammate M.Farrell went 1 for 3 with the one hit being a triple to go along with 1 run and 2 RBI. 

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• UT has at least one extra-base hit in 18 games in a row.
• With the 11 hits in the game, the team has 11 games this season with double-digit hits. 
• The Spartans surpassed the number of walks they have drawn compared to last season. Last year, the team had 61 walks in 39 games. This year they have already drawn 63.

UP NEXT:

The team will be back on the road this coming weekend as they travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. to take on regional opponent Embry-Riddle for a three-game series. The opener is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and the series will wrap up with a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 12 p.m.

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