Tampa Suffers Tough Losses at Eckerd Tournament
St. Petersburg, Fla- The University of Tampa softball team dropped two games to Palm Beach Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast on the first day of the Eckerd Tournament by scores of 7-6 and 5-1 respectively. Tampa falls to 3-7 on the season heading into the second day of the tournament.
In the first game of the day against Palm Beach Atlantic, the Spartans started out strong scoring four runs in the first inning. Brandyce Trowell started off the big inning with an infield single with one out. After consecutive singles by Samantha Becker and Devlin Dougherty and Trowell being forced out at third, Kelly Glover drove in Becker and Dougherty with a sinking liner to left field to put Tampa on the board following a Sailfish error. Krystal Crooks added the other two runs in the inning in the very next at-bat with a single turned triple following another Palm Beach error, scoring Dougherty and Glover for the early 4-0 lead.
The Sailfish started the comeback in the bottom half of the inning, getting RBI singles from Nikki Staten and Casey Gibson to cut the Spartan lead in half at 4-2. Tampa added another run in the second to extend their lead to 5-2, thanks to an RBI double by Becker. The lead did not last long as Palm Beach rebounded to record a big inning in the second, scoring four runs to take the lead 6-5.
Palm Beach could not hold back the determined Spartans, however, watching Tampa tie the game in the third inning on a botched play at second, scoring Heather Vanlandingham from second. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the six when Palm Beach capitalized on a costly error by the Spartans on a bunt down the third base line to snatch the game from the Spartans.
The second game proved to be the staunch opposite of the first as the Spartans found themselves trailing Florida Gulf Coast 2-0 after the first inning thanks to an RBI double by Carmen Page that scored Cheyenne Jenks. Tampa managed to cut the lead in half in the third, when Becker added to her already impressive day with an RBI double that pushed Brandyce Trowell across the plate.
That was the closest Tampa would get to the Eagles, allowing three more runs in the fifth to put the game all but out of reach. Despite the four-run deficit, the Spartans came out in the seventh inning determined to tilt the game back in their favor. It was not to be, however, as they went down in order, sealing the win for the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast.
Tampa saw some strong individual performances in spite of the two losses, including a 4-7 day from Samantha Becker to go along with 2 RBIs. Kelly Glover added a 3-7 day to her resume, also driving in two runs for the Spartans. Heather Vanlandingham pitched four solid innings in relief in the first game, keeping the door open for a Spartan victory.
The Spartans are back in action tomorrow as they travel back to the Eckerd tournament to square off against Eckerd and Nova Southeastern. Game times are scheduled for 9 am and 11:30 am.