Seniors Deanna Henriott and Becky Vyzas Lead Tampa to Victory

MELBOURNE, Fla. - The No. 20 University of Tampa (19-3, 4-0 SSC) softball team claimed a 1-0 win over Florida Tech (11-15, 1-6 SSC) in the Sunshine State Conference series opener at Nancy Bottge Field.

The game was a pitching battle until UT catcher Becky Vyzas put the Spartans on top 1-0 with a two-out RBI double in the top of the sixth inning. The senior drove home freshman shortstop Kayleen Boatwright, who reached on a walk.

After hitting two home runs in the Feb. 11 victory over Florida Tech, Vyzas led Leslie Kanter's Spartans with two hits and an RBI.

Deanna Henriott (11-2) struck out 12 Panthers while only allowing one hit. UT's all-time winningest pitcher is also approaching the 1,000 strikeout milestone and now stands at 940 as the program's leader in career strikeouts. It was also the sixth shutout of the season for UT's ace. Taylor Smith (4-7) took the loss for FIT.

Tampa now has 30.1 scoreless innings as a team, dating back to Feb. 25 versus Palm Beach Atlantic. The UT school record for consecutive scoreless innings is 43.0 from the 2007 season.

The same two teams will conclude the SSC set in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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