It was a very exciting opening weekend for the University of Tampa softball team, as the Spartans concluded the Eckerd College Spring Invitational with a 5-0 record.
The Spartans faced Lindenwood University on Friday night despite the rain, and came out with a 3-0 win. In seven innings, senior pitcher Deanna Henriott had nine strikeouts while allowing just two hits coming from the Lions’ Alexandra Newcomb and Bailey Marshall. Sophomore Katlyn Raatz scored the first run of the game in the second inning after being knocked in by a single to center field by Brie Walton, a junior. Walton also scored that inning.
Tampa recorded another run in the bottom of the fourth when junior Stacy Piagno ran home while senior Susan Jallo reached first on an error.
On Saturday, UT had a clean sweep in the double-header against Georgia College and Florida Tech. The Spartans beat the Georgia College Bobcats 5-4 in nine innings. Sophomore Kayla Cox had 18 strikeouts, earning her first career win at UT. The game was scoreless until Cox, a North Carolina State University transfer, gave up a one-run homerun to Georgia College’s Haley Burnett.
This gave the Bobcats a one to zero lead into the top of the seventh. With two outs, Jallo hit a single to left field allowing Walton to score, tying the game. In the eighth inning, Jallo, Burke and senior Becky Vyzas all scored. However, the Bobcats answered with three runs of their own. Jallo drove in the winning run in the ninth inning, finishing with two hits, two RBI, and one run scored. The Bobcats were unable to score again.
Later that afternoon, UT defeated Florida Tech by a score of 4-2. Henriott had 13 strikeouts while carrying a perfect game into the bottom of the seventh inning. Vyzas had two solo homeruns. Raatz and senior Lizzy Milhan each had RBI base hits. Additional hits came from Jallo and freshman Meagan Burke. The Spartans crushed the Palm Beach Atlantic University Sailfish with a score of 7-0 on the third day of the Invitational. Cox pitched her first no-hitter as a Spartan while striking out 12 batters. This was only the 10th no-hitter in UT history.
Jallo knocked in a three-run homerun and scored two runs, while Milhan hit a two-run double. In the second game of the day, UT beat Flagler College by a score of 4-1. Henriott had 10 strikeouts in 7 innings as Piagno and Raatz each finished the game with one RBI and two base hits. Milhan also drove in one run. Pitching was essential to the Spartan’s success this weekend. While UT’s opponents had 23 strikeouts collectively against Tampa, UT more than doubled that with 62 strikeouts. “We really have amazing pitching,” said Jallo. “We have better pitching than any other team.”
However, Cox doesn’t believe that her pitching was a main factor in the wins the team had. “The team wins the games; it’s not any individual player. We are a family: together we stand, and together we fall.” Another thing that set the Spartans apart from the other teams this past weekend was the team’s “undeniable chemistry and extreme determination to fight every single moment of each game until the end, regardless of the score,” added Cox.
While it’s hard to find fault with the only undefeated team in the SSC, Jallo believes there are still things to work on. “Once everyone starts seeing more live pitching, hopefully [hitting] will be a breeze for everyone,” the slugger explained. Head coach Leslie Kanter said at the beginning of the season, “Hitting is a big question for the year.” UT did, however, have 32 hits in comparison to its opponents’ 11 hits over the weekend. The Spartans’ next games will be a home opener double-header against Lindenwood University on Wednesday, Feb. 15, starting at 6 p.m.
Analisa Trstensky can be reached at atrstensky@spartans.ut.edu.