Spartans Drop Two On Final Tournament Day
CLEARWATER, Fla. - In the final day of the Eckerd Spring Invitational, the University of Tampa (2-4) softball team was unable to notch a win, falling to both West Florida (8-2) and No. 6 Valdosta State (8-0) by final scores of 9-2 and 3-1 respectively.
Junior leadoff, Julie Wisniewski started off the first game for
the Spartans with a double on the first pitch she saw. After a
sacrifice bunt by Susan Jallo, Wisniewski scored on a dropped ball
by the shortstop. Brittany Hipple would later single in Cassie
Barnes from first to give the Spartans a quick lead. West Florida
was able to manufacture two runs of its own in the bottom half to
tie things up. The Argonauts would later tally four in the fifth
inning in route to a 9-2 victory.
The last game of the weekend for the Spartans rendered an emotional
loss for the Spartans.
A Shannon Kelly single drove in freshman Brittany Dattilo in the
second to give the Spartans an early lead against the
nationally-ranked Blazers. Senior Heather Van Landingham mixed
pitches well to keep VSU scoreless until the sixth inning. After an
Amber Shaw single and Marti Littlefield with a hit by pitch,
Blazers' slugger Alyssa Shirey sent the 2-2 offering into the seats
giving the Blazers the lead and the victory.
The Spartans take the week off before traveling to Clermont to
participate in an NCAA invitational.
