Tampa Routs Salem International to Move Above .500

Tampa, Fla. - The University of Tampa softball team won big over Salem International today to move above .500 for the first time this season with wins of 7-1 and 19-1. Tampa improves to 12-10 on the season while Salem International falls to 1-17.

Michele Horan gave the Spartans all the momentum they would need with a leadoff double to open things up in the first inning. Moments later, she scored the first run of the game after Kallan Casey drove the ball to the fence for an RBI triple to give Tampa the 1-0 lead. After Brandi Blout singled in Jessica Tejas for the Spartans' fifth run of the inning, Kallan Casey drove in her second and third runs of the game with a single through the infield, scoring Brandi Blout and Jessica Keefe to give Tampa plenty of breathing room with a 7-0 lead after one.

Salem International tried to keep it interesting, getting back-to-back singles off Krystal Crooks in the fourth, but failed to push either runner across the plate. The Tigers managed to spoil the shutout bid in the seventh, seeing Erin Smith drive in Lacy Mosser on a sacrifice fly. That was all they could muster against the dominant performances of Devlin Dougherty and Krystal Crooks, managing just five hits and one run against the Spartan duo.

The second game saw an impressive performance from the Spartan offense as they sent 19 runs across the plate to overwhelm the Tigers 19-1. In similar fashion the first game of the doubleheader, Tampa got off to a hot start in the first, pushing across seven runs on three hits and three Tiger miscues to take the early 7-0 lead.

Horan got things going again for the Spartans in the opening frame, reaching on an error and moving over to second on an infield single by Casey. After Horan stole third, Samantha Becker and Devlin Dougherty both walked, handing Dougherty an easy RBI. Kelly Glover drove in the Spartans' second run of the game with an RBI single that scored Casey. Two batters later, Jessica Keefe added two RBIs of her own, doubling in Glover and Dougherty.

Given the stellar performance of the Spartan bats so far, it came as little surprise when they exploded for another big inning in the second, this time led by Casey. Dougherty gave Tampa a shot of momentum to start the inning with a one out triple to right center, offering her teammates an easy RBI chance. After a Glover walk, Jessica Tejas hit a single through the infield to drive in Dougherty to extend the lead to 8-0. Following RBI singles by Brandi Blout and Katie Davis, Casey roped a bases-clearing double to left center to drive in Horan, Blout, and Davis to make it a 13-0 margin. Becker and Dougherty added RBI singles of their own to cap off the big inning, giving Tampa the impressive 15-0 lead after just two frames.

Salem International scored their first and only run of the contest in the third inning, thanks to an RBI single into right center by Lacy Mosser, one of only three hits for the Tigers in the game after a tremendous throw from catcher Blout cut down Kim Scheer at second. Tampa added four more runs before the end, one on a Dougherty walk in the third, with the other three coming in the fourth on RBI doubles by Davis and Ashley Carrera, and an RBI single by Dougherty to give the Spartans the 19-1 lead going into the fifth inning. The Tigers failed to respond to the challenge in the fifth, going down in order to give Tampa their 12th victory of the season.

The Spartans got strong performances from their pitching staff in the two game set, with Dougherty throwing three perfect innings with five strikeouts in the first game to earn her fourth win of the season. Crooks pitched solid in relief of Dougherty, allowing four hits and one run in four innings of work, while striking out three. Heather Vanlandingham went the distance for Tampa in the second game, allowing the one run on three hits will striking out ten Tigers.

Casey led the way for the Spartans offensively, driving in six runs on four hits to lead Tampa to victory. Dougherty added another four RBIs to go with her five hits.

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday, March 13th when they play host to West Liberty State in a two game set. The first game is scheduled to begin at 6 pm.