Box Score
TAMPA â€" When Deanna Henriott takes the ball in the pitcher’s circle for the University of Tampa, there are normally few chances for an opposing team to score. When Christine Clark takes the ball for Florida Southern, it’s usually the same story. Friday night in Tampa, they combined to give up one run, and it was Tampa that pushed it across in the bottom of the fourth inning for a 1-0 win over the Moccasins.
Henriott improved to 21-4 by pitching her league-leading 11th shutout of the season. The redshirt junior gave up just three hits, struck out 12, walked three and survived a bases-loaded situation the Moccasins (20-18, 8-8) forced on her in the top of the seventh inning.
Clark, meanwhile, scattered nine hits, but gave up only the one run while striking out one and walking no one. She fell to 17-11, and it was the fourth loss this season where she allowed one earned run or no earned runs.
The Spartans (33-7, 14-5, ranked #18 in the country) had singles in the first, second and third innings but couldn’t get any of them home before breaking through against Clark in the bottom of the fourth. Cassie Barnes singled to center with one out to give Tampa a base runner, and Elizabeth Milhan followed with a blooper down the right field line that fell just out of the reach of second baseman Steph Graziani and right fielder Khaliah Brown. When Catlyn Raatz hit into a fielder’s choice for the second out, Barnes took third, putting her in position to score on an infield hit by Brittany Joseph.
In the top of the fifth, Clark broke up Henriott’s no-hit bid with an opposite field single down the line in left and was replaced by pinch-runner Brandy Pikus. Pikus stole second, but two strikeouts (one before the steal and one after) got Henriott out of the inning.
Henriott ran into trouble of her own making in the top of the sixth when she walked Karlyn Scott and Erin Foley with two out. That brought cleanup hitter Brittany Martin to the plate, and after running the count full, which included a long foul ball down the leftfield line, Henriott got her swinging to preserve the Spartans’ 1-0 lead.
Tampa got two hits in the bottom of the sixth, but it was Clark’s turn to get out of trouble with help from Foley. With runners at first and second, and one out, the sophomore third baseman fielded a scorching ground ball hit by Joseph and ran to the bag for the force out. That possibly saved a run and resulted in the second out of the inning before Clark got pinch-hitter Chelsey Brooks on a ground ball to second.
The Moccasins had an even better chance to score in the top of the seventh when Randi Grimes led off with a base hit to left and took second on a one-out error by the Spartans. A force out at third left runners at first and second with two out before Dani Blake bounced a single just over third baseman Susan Jallo’s head that loaded the bases. Graziani then came to plate for the Moccasins and hit the first pitch hard up the middle, but shortstop Julie Wisniewski fielded it and flipped the ball to Joseph at second for the final out of the game.
Florida Southern and Tampa complete their 3-game series on Saturday in Tampa with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
