USF Softball Splits DH in adidas Invitational

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Courtesy USF SID Office

USF Softball Splits Games In Day One Of adidas Invitational

CLEARWATER, Fla. (March 8, 2007) – The University of South Florida softball team split games in the first day of the adidas Invitational, defeating Wagner, 4-0, and then losing to North Carolina, 2-1, Thursday night at the EC Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla.

Kristen Gordon and Bree Spence combined for the shutout win in game one. Gordon (5-1) threw six innings, allowing five hits while recording a career-best nine strikeouts. Spence pitched in the seventh and retired the side one-two-three. Spence (3-2) was credited with the loss in game two, but posted two Ks to record career strikeout 300 in one and one-third innings.

Five USF players recorded two hits on the day. Alison Savarese led all players with a home run and a three RBI.

In game one, Savarese drove in three of the four runs, setting her personal best. She knocked in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and tallied two more RBI in the sixth with her fourth-career home run.  

JoJo Medina tallied the other RBI for the Bulls with a single in the sixth inning.  

The best chance for Wagner (1-1) to score was in the third inning. After Gordon led off walking three straight batters, she worked out of trouble and retired the next three on strikeouts.  

Game two was a pitching duel between USF’s Cristi Ecks and UNC’s Amber Johnson. The Bulls managed to get to Johnson in the sixth inning thanks to a Cat Olnick sacrifice fly. In the bottom part of the inning, North Carolina returned the favor and evened the score due to a USF error.  

In the top of the seventh, USF (17-8) had runners at the corners with no outs thanks to Tar Heel fielding errors but couldn’t bring them home.

North Carolina (17-8) walked off with the win in the seventh inning, 2-1, with two outs. After Breanna Brown reached first base on a fielding error, Jennifer Jacobs doubled to the gap in right center, scoring Brown for the win.  

USF will return to action on Friday when it faces Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. and Western Michigan at 6 p.m.