A Grand Afternoon for Henriott and Tampa
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 17 University of Tampa (26-4, 11-1 SSC) softball team split trhe double-header against Sunshine State Conference (SSC) rival No. 11 Rollins College (24-6, 7-2 SSC) Saturday afternoon at Vince Naimoli Softball Field. Tampa won game one by a score of 4-1 in the first game, while dropping the second by a score of 5-0.
Head coach Leslie Kanter also had her squad on a school-record 18-game win streak, while also compiling the best program start to SSC games.
Sophomore Kayla Cox started game one and improved her record to 11-1 on the season. Cox tossed a complete 7.0 innings with one unearned run allowed and 12 strikeouts.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Becky Vyzas drove Susan Jallo to tie the score at one. The Spartans rallied for three runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a Brie Walton triple that drove in two runs. Walton finished the game with one base hit, one run scored, and three RBI.
Senior Deanna Henriott started game two and recorded her 1,000th strikeout of her career, the 26th do so in NCAA Division II history. While her record dropped to 15-3 on the year, she still tossed 11.0 innings with 13 strikeouts and two walks allowed.
The Spartans couldn't muster a run in the second game despite collecting nine total base hits, as they left 16 base-runners on base.. Kayleen Boatwright collected three base hits, while Stacy Piagno and Kayla Lamphier both registered two hits.
Tampa will head to Miami Shores, Fla., next weekend where they will play a series against Barry University starting at 7 p.m. on Friday. Live stats will be available through tampaspartans.com.
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