Spartans Stay Alive at NCAA South Regional as Kayla Cox Sets Another Record
VALDOSTA, Ga. - The No. 15 University of Tampa (33-9) softball team split a pair of games at the NCAA South Regional, dropping a 10-inning game to No. 3 Valdosta State University by a 5-3 score before picking up a 6-2 win over Albany State University.
In the first game of the day, the Spartans scored first off the nation's No. 3 ranked team. A Taylor Storey double to left field scored teammate Meagan Burke to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
The Blazers would tie the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning on a two out RBI single by Courtney Albritton. Tampa would preserve the tie as a Blazer was thrown out at home following the run.
The game would remain scoreless until the ninth inning when VSU struck for a pair of two-run home runs to take a 5-1 lead. Tampa would not go quietly as Taylor Storey and Brittany Garcia each connected on solo homers, though UT would ultimately take the 5-3 loss.
Despite outhitting the Blazers 7-4, UT was forced to play in an elimination game as Kayla Cox (24-5) was the pitcher of record. Cox pitched 9.0 innings, allowing four hits and striking out 19 as she came up one shy of her own school record.
Cox also became UT's single-season strikeout leader as she stood at 299 heading into the game. She surpassed Deanna Henriott's previous mark of 308 as Cox finished the game with 318 on the season.
Against Albany State, Tampa picked up a pair of third-inning runs and added another in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. After ASU clubbed a pair of solo home runs in the fifth, the Spartans tacked on three runs in the sixth to grab the 6-2 lead.
Kayleen Boatwright led the UT offense with two hits as she also drove in a run. Katie Bannon and Katlyn Raatz also drove in runs for head coach Leslie Kanter's squad.
Cox pitched the first 6.0 innings and received the victory, moving to 25-5 on the year. She finished with 13 strikeouts while allowing just three hits. Julia Morrow came in and pitched a scoreless seventh to preserve the UT victory.
The Spartans will return to play at the NCAA South Regional on Sunday against Valdosta State at 1 p.m., with the winning team advancing to the NCAA Super Regional. UT will need a pair of wins, as VSU needs just one win to capture the regional. A link to the live stats and video webcast may be found at TampaSpartans.com on the softball schedule page.
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