Tampa Falls to Palm Beach Atlantic in Series Finale

West Palm Beach, Fla – On Saturday morning The University of Tampa Spartans took on the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish in the series finale. The Sailfish took game three in the series by a 2-0 final score as the Tampa offense was held quiet for a third consecutive game.

With the series finished, UT now has a 13-14 record on the season while PBA stands at 24-13.

Freshman Makaleigh Dooley (5-7) was the pitcher of choice for Tampa as she made her 10th start of the season. Dooley spread out nine hits in the game and gave up just the two runs while getting one strikeout and walking none. In the second inning Dooley worked out of a jam as she stranded two PBA runners on second and third base with only one out by getting the final two batters of the inning to ground out. A similar situation in the third inning with runners on first and second and two outs ended with Dooley getting Theresa Butler to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. Unfortunately, in the sixth inning PBA scored their two runs as UT had an error that let the first runner reach safely and come around to score on the next batter and a misplayed ball in left field a batter later that let the second run come in.

Opposite Dooley and starting for Palm Beach Atlantic was senior Rachel Hill (11-6) who made her 19th start of the season. Hill was in dominant fashion in the game as she allowed just two hits in the game with no runs coming home as she walked one and struck out three.

The Spartan offense was kept in check for most of the game as they could not get a hit in the first 5 innings of the game with a lot of first pitch swings leading to quick outs. In the 6th inning they got their first hit as catcher Erica Matich hit a double to right center field that went all the way to the fence. Freshman Nikki Alfano pinch ran for Matich but Tampa could not drive the run in as centerfielder Sahrina Cortes was out at first but managing to move Alfano to third but freshman Cristina Clauberg flew out to right field to end the inning. In the 7th inning, UT found themselves in a 2-0 hole. Dooley doubled down the left field line to start and would be replaced by Meagan Brislin who came in as a pinch runner and moved to third as senior Alyssa Bache reached base safely on an error by Maddie Bertisch at third base. Hill would then hit shortstop Alyssa Colletti to load the bases. That would be Hill's final batter as senior Amber Johnson took over. Designated player Jennie Sittloh came up to bat and lined out to the pitcher as Brislin was then caught off base as she was running on contact and was out at third to end the game.

The Spartans will be back in action on Friday April 8 as they host the Saint Leo University Lions for a weekend conference matchup. The first game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Softball Field and the series will conclude with a double header on Saturday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Live stats, as well as a live broadcast, will be made available through www.tampaspartans.com as well as on the UT Spartans Front Row app.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/tampaspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), Vimeo (vimeo.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instagram (tampaspartans).

UT also offers free messaging service for text and/or email, which sends alerts and press releases for Spartan teams. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com. A free app is also available for free download through Apple and Google Play stores. Please search for Tampa Spartans Front Row.