Spartan Offense Explodes for Series Win Over Barry

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. –  The University of Tampa softball team wrapped up a busy month of March with a doubleheader in South Florida against the Barry University Buccaneers. The Buc's offense took game one on the day after breaking out the bats and putting seven runs on the board. The Spartans bats came to life in game three and never looked back as they put up 12 runs in five innings to make a statement in winning the series.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP (Game One):

Final: Tampa 2 (L: Kaye 2-5), Barry 7 (W: Falcon 10-7) 
Records: Spartans (20-14, 11-9 SSC), Buccaneers (18-20, 3-11 SSC)
Location: Buccaneer Field | Miami Shores, Fla.
All-time Series: UT trails in the all-time series 38-72.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Top 2nd: Emalee Jansen doubled down the left field line to start the inning and advanced to 3rd base on a sacrifice bunt. Cristina Clauberg hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Jansen to open the scoring. Erica Matich kept the inning going as she hit a 2-out single to the shortstop and moved into scoring position as Sahrina Cortes hit a single to right field. Shelby Press put up the second run of the inning for Tampa with another single to right field that allowed Matich to come into score from 2nd.

Bott. 2nd: The lead was short-lived, however, as Barry came right back in the bottom half of the inning and tied the game at 2-2.

Bott. 3rd: Sam Kaye replaced Jansen in the circle for the Spartans and the Buccaneers were able to score one run to take the lead for the first time in the game.

Bott. 5th: The home side broke the game open as they scored four times to make it 7-2.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Cortes finished the day 2 for 3 at the plate while Clauberg and Press each had an RBI.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Tampa crossed the 100 run mark in the game and has now scored 101 times this season.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP (Game Two):

Final: Tampa 12 (W: Makaleigh Dooley 19-9), Barry 0 (L: Santos 6-10) 
Records: Spartans (21-14, 12-9 SSC), Buccaneers (18-21, 3-12 SSC)
Location: Buccaneer Field | Miami Shores, Fla.
All-time Series: UT trails in the all-time series 39-72.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Top 3rd: Lauren Pascoe singled to right field and was moved to scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Cortes. A single up the middle by Press that deflected off the 2nd baseman's glove allowed Pascoe to score on the play after briefly stopping at third. Dooley reached on a fielder's choice as Press was out on the play that kept the rally going and moved to second on a passed ball. After Bailey Phillips was hit by a pitch, both runners moved up 60 feet on a wild pitch by Santos. Maddie Farrell drew a walk with the count full to load the bases and Jansen drove in the second run of the inning on a single to second base. With the bases still loaded and two out, Taylor Farrell came up big once again to clear the bases with a stand up double to right-center field.

Top 5th: Dooley was hit by a pitch on the first pitch of the inning and was replaced by Mackenzie Allen. Phillips placed two runners on and nobody out as she reached first on a fielding error by the second baseman and Allen went all the way to third. A wild pitch by Santos allowed Allen to score and Phillips moved to second. A bunt single by M.Farrell placed runners on the corners as Breanna Taphouse replaced Farrell as a pinch runner. Jansen doubled to left-center field to score another run for the Spartans. The bats stayed hot as T.Farrell and Emily Proffitt hit back to back singles. Alex Walton came in as a pinch hitter and singled to center field, driving in yet another run for UT. A single to right field by Press after an out was recorded by Barry loaded the bases. Allen stepped up to the plate as a pinch hitter and drove in a run while pinch hitter Kailee Clark drove in the final run of the inning on a single to the shortstop. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• T.Farrell finished the game going 3 for 3 at the plate with 4 RBI and a run.
• Jansen went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs.
• Dooley threw five shutout innings giving up four hits (all singles), no walks, and striking out 10 batters.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• 12 runs is the highest run total for a game this season for Tampa.
• Dooley has now thrown 23 complete games and seven shutouts.

UP NEXT:

The team will have a bye weekend next week and will travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. on April 13-14 to take on current SSC leaders Palm Beach Atlantic in what could be a decisive three-game series. First pitch for the Friday night game is scheduled for 6 p.m. while the Saturday doubleheader will start at 12 p.m.

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