Eagles Soar Over Spartans in Series Opener

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. –  The University of Tampa softball team was back on the road after a handful of series at home over spring break to take on the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Eagles in a three-game regional series. The series opened on Friday night with the game going the way of the home side.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: Tampa 1 (L: Makaleigh Dooley 12-2), Embry-Riddle 5 (W: Andringa 10-6) 
Records: Spartans (19-5), Eagles (16-13)
Location: ERAU Softball Stadium | Daytona Beach, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa has a 4-2 advantage over Embry-Riddle in the all-time series.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

1st Inning: The Eagles took no time in opening the scoring as they drove in a run in the bottom of the inning to take a 1-0 lead over UT.

3rd Inning: The Spartans tied the game up in the top half of the inning as Taylor Farrell singled to center field. After Farrell was replaced by Lauren Pascoe coming in as a pinch runner, she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Sahrina Cortes. Shelby Press singled to right field and smart base running by Pascoe allowed her to move to third, sneaking in under the tag attempt by the Eagles third baseman. On the next batter, Pascoe came in to score as a ball got away from the catcher and reached the backstop.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• The loss was only the second one for Dooley this season.
• The sophomore pitcher was able to add three more strikeouts to her season total and had no walks. Of Dooley's 72 total pitches, 57 were for strikes. In relief, Corynn Miner tossed 32 pitches with 20 being strikes.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The streak of games with at least one extra-base hit was snapped, as UT was held to just three singles.
• Tampa will have to wait at least one more day to surpass last season's win total.

UP NEXT:

The team will be back on the field tomorrow as they wrap up the series against ERAU with a doubleheader slated for a noon start.

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