Spartans Triumph Over Buccaneers in Homerun Derby

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - The No. 9 University of Tampa (16-3, 8-2 SSC) softball team claimed a 4-1 victory over Barry University (15-7, 2-2 SSC) at Buccaneer Field on Saturday evening.

Senior Kayla Cox started for the Spartans and earned her eighth victory of the season. She tossed 6.0 innings with nine strikeouts while allowing one run on one hit. Julia Morrow entered the game in the seventh to close out the game and earned her second save of the year.

Both teams were held scoreless through the first two innings as Cox and Buccaneers starter Taylor Sabol dominated hitters in the circle.

Barry took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a solo homerun down the left field line by Kristina Pazienza.

Jenna Halper blasted a homerun over the left field fence for the Spartans in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 1-1.

Meagan Burke led off the top of the seventh and belted a solo homer over the left field fence to give Tampa a 2-1 advantage. Lindsay Dring doubled with one out in the inning and would come around to score on a two-run homer by Katlyn Raatz giving the Spartans a 4-1 lead.

Morrow and the Tampa defense held the Buccaneers scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the victory.

Kayleen Boatwright also contributed for the Spartans with a base hit to total five in the game.

UT will return to action Sunday afternoon for a doubleheader at Barry to conclude the SSC series. The first game is scheduled for 12 p.m. Live stats will be available through www.tampa.statbroadcast.com.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instragram (tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.