Spartans Fall to Sharks on Saturday

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. –  The University of Tampa softball team dropped the Saturday doubleheader to the Nova Southeastern University Sharks after NSU took an eventful game on 8-4 and won the final game by the slimmest of margins at 1-0. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP (Game One):

Final: Tampa 4 (L: Sam Kaye 2-4), Nova 8 (W: Sprengers 6-2) 
Records: Spartans (17-11, 8-6 SSC), Sharks (14-15, 4-7 SSC)
Location: Naimoli AD Griffin Sports Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series against Lynn 29-20.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Bott. 3rd: The home side opened the scoring as they scored twice in the inning to take the lead.

Top 4th: The Spartans came right back into the game as Makaleigh Dooley singled through the left side with one away. Dooley advanced to third on a double to right-center by Bailey Phillips and Maddie Farrell drew a walk to load the bases with just one away. Shelby Press continued her strong streak this series at the plate as she singled down the right-field line to notch the game up at 2-2.

Bott. 4th: The Sharks had a quick response as they took a 3-2 lead heading into the fifth inning.

Bott. 5th: NSU broke the game open in the inning as they took advantage of two Spartan errors that kept the inning alive as they took a six-run lead.

Top 6th: Down big and with six outs left in the game, the offense was able to get a pair of runs back. Dooley reached first as the leadoff batter when she was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a groundout on the next batter. After M.Farrell reached on a fielder's choice, Press loaded the bases with a single through the right side. Emalee Jansen drove in the two runs with a double to left field but the Sharks were able to force two quick outs to end the comeback attempt.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Jansen finished the day one for three with 2 RBI while Press went 2 for 3 with and 2 RBI.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• UT has hit at least one extra-base hit in five straight games.
• Tampa has drawn at least one walk in nine of the last ten games.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP (Game Two):

Final: Tampa 0 (L: Makaleigh Dooley 15-8), Nova 1 (W: Storrer 8-12) 
Records: Spartans (17-12, 8-6 SSC), Sharks (15-15, 5-7 SSC)
Location: Naimoli AD Griffin Sports Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa leads the all-time series against Lynn 29-21.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Bott. 6th: The Sharks scored the lone run of the game in the bottom of the inning that marked the difference.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Dooley tossed 87 pitches in six innings of work with 57 strikes. She also struck out six batters and had no walks.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This was the first time in ten games that UT was shutout.
• Tampa has at least one extra-base hits in six straight games.
• The Spartans completed the series with six drawn walks to bring their season total to 50.

UP NEXT:

The team will now turn their attention to the Embry-Riddle Eagles who will visit Tampa next weekend for a crucial three-game series. The opening game is scheduled for Friday night at 6 p.m.

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