Spartans Dominate at the Panther Invitational
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 17 University of Tampa softball team traveled to Longwood, Fl. to play in the Panther Invitational. They made a statement by beating #4 Auburn-Montgomery and West Florida.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Game One Final: #17 Tampa 2, #4 Auburn-Montgomery 0
Game Two Final: #17 Tampa 13, West-Florida 2 (6 innings)
Records: Tampa Spartans 4-0, Auburn-Montgomery Warhawks 3-3, and West-Florida Argonauts 2-4
Location: Soldiers Creek Park | Longwood, Fla.
All-time Series: Tampa takes the lead in both matchups. They're now 2-1 against Auburn-Montgomery and 12-11 over West Florida.
HOW IT HAPPENED — GAME ONE:
- After the first 2 innings were scoreless, Lilly Kiester broke the 0-0 tie with a 2-out double down the left field line to bring home the game's first run Lauren Fantone. Bottom | 1-0 Tampa
- Kate DeSimone had a clutch 2-out RBI single down the right field line to bring home Camryn Wineinger and give the Spartans a cushion with a huge insurance run. Bottom 4 | 2-0 Tampa
- Mary Beth Feldman controlled the rest of the game for the Spartans. She had a dominant performance and only gave up 1 hit the rest of the game after the Spartans took a 2-0 lead and eventually propelled Tampa to a massive victory over the #4 ranked team in the nation.
INSIDE THE STATS — GAME ONE:
- All-American Mary Beth Feldman started in the circle and earned her second win of the season. She went all 7.0 innings, striking out 5 while allowing just 3 hits with 2 walks.
- Tampa struck out only once compared to the Warhawks 5
- The Spartans had 7 hits and 7 left on base.
- Sophomore Kiester had a double, an RBI, and a sacrifice bunt.
HOW IT HAPPENED — GAME TWO:
- UT scored two in the first on a Wineinger two-run double to the left field gap to bring home Kiester and Fantone. Top 1 | 2-0 Tampa
- Kiester continued her performance at the plate with an RBI single to bring home Fantone to extend the Spartan's lead. Top 2 | 3-0 Tampa
- After 2 runs by the Argonauts and a scorless frame in the 3rd the Spartans came out swinging in the top of the 4th. Alexa Russo had a 2-run single to bring home Fantone and Stephanie Balmer. Then Wineinger had an RBI groundout and Mariah Galhouse followed with an RBI single to extend the Spartan's lead to 5. Top 4 | 7-2 Tampa
- With bases loaded and nobody out, Galhouse hit a Grand Slam to open the flood gates for Tampa. Later in the inning, Fantone and Devin Hammonds joined the scoring parade with RBI's. DeSimone would take down the Argonauts in order in the bottom half of the 6th, and the run-rule came into effect. Final | 13-2 Tampa
INSIDE THE STATS — GAME TWO:
- Galhouse had herself a game with her second win in the circle and recording 5 RBIs at the plate.
- Balmer had 2 hits and scored 2 runs.
- Tampa had 15 hits compared to West-Florida's 2.
- Kiester had 3 hits, 2 runs, and an RBI.
BEYOND THE BOX:
- The Spartans had 7 different batters record atleast one RBI on the day.
- Galhouse and Feldman held both teams to a combined 3 earned runs and 3 walks in 12 innings.
UP NEXT: Tampa will finish up their weekend in Longwood tomorrow as they take on Wingate. First pitch will be at 1pm.
GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Be sure to follow @TampaSpartans on all socials for up-to-date information on University of Tampa Athletics. Please give us a follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and use our official hashtag, StandAsOne.
TEXT ALERTS: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.
Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for the Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan teams. The app is entirely free.
GET YOUR UT GEAR: Purchase your official University of Tampa merchandise through our online store, TampaSpartans.store.