TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Southern College softball team dropped its Sunshine State Conference series opener to the No.2 University of Tampa falling in six innings, 8-0.
The Moccasins (7-27, 2-14 SSC) were led by
Gabby Young going 2-for-3, followed by
Keira Morris and
Shelby Savitt but contributing a hit. The Spartans (30-1, 13-0 SSC) had nine hits in the win with Lilly Kiester going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, followed by Mariah Galhouse going 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Alexa Russo bringing in three runners.
After Florida Southern was sent back to the dugout in order,
Kayla Hickey got the start in the circle, opening the bottom of the first with a strikeout swinging, getting out of the inning with no damage done.
Savitt hit a one out double to left center field in the top of the second, but was left stranded as the Mocs headed into the bottom of the inning. Hickey, still in the circle, Spartans led off with a single that later scored from an RBI single as well a Moc error to take a 2-0 lead.
Young and Morris looked to answer back in the top of the third and fourth with lead off singles, but FSC could not convert, finishing the next two innings down 2-0.
It was not until the bottom of the fifth the bats of the Spartans started to come back alive as a lead off single followed by an RBI double, and a 2 RBI single gave Tampa a 5-0 lead to put the game out of reach. The Spartans never let up, scoring three additional runs to force a run-rule scoring from RBI singles to left field and a ground out to make it 8-0 to end game one of the series.
Florida Southern continues the Sunshine State Conference series tomorrow with a doubleheader against the ranked University of Tampa Spartans. The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
