No. 20 Tampa Takes Pair of 1-0 Games to Sweep Florida Tech
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The No. 20 University of Tampa (21-3, 6-0 SSC) softball team continued its impressive Sunshine State Conference start with a pair of 1-0 wins over Florida Tech (11-17, 1-8 SSC) on Saturday at Nancy Bottge Field.
UT has currently won 13 consecutive games, breaking its previous school record of 12 from the 2011 season. Leaslie Kanter's squad also set a school record for best start in SSC play with its sixth straight league victory.
A day after scoring just one run, the Spartan bats got started early as Kayleen Boatwright reached on a double. Pinch-runner Katie Bannon then scored the game's first run on a double by Stacy Piagno, giving UT a 1-0 advantage in the middle of the first.
Kayla Cox (9-1) threw another masterpiece for Tampa, going the distance for her seventh shutout of the season as she allowed just one hit while striking out 16. Her consecutive inning scoreless streak now stands at 30.1 innings as she is approaching teammate Deanna Henriott's current streak. Cox is also the national leader in ERA, strikeouts per seven innings and hits allowed.
In game two, the Spartans were held hitless until it led off the sixth with back-to-back hits from freshmen Taylor Storey and Kayla Lamphier. Tampa was unable to capitalize on the base-runners as the score remained 0-0.
Becky Vyzas then broke the scoreless tie with a leadoff home run to left-center field in the top of the seventh inning. The Spartans followed with a single from Piagno and a double by Meagan Burke, but left the pair stranded to send the game to the bottom of the seventh.
Deanna Henriott (12-2) pitched her second one-hit gem in as many days as the Spartan ace also struck out nine Panthers. She is also approaching the 1,000 strikeout milestone and now stands at 949 as the program's leader in career strikeouts. Henriott also has a school-record string of 37.2 scoreless innings in tact, topping her own record of 33.0.
Tampa also has 44.1 scoreless innings as a team, dating back to Feb. 25 versus Palm Beach Atlantic. The UT school record for consecutive scoreless innings was surpassed today as it was previously 43.0 from the 2007 season.
Tampa will return home where it will host Saint Leo University for a three-game series, beginning Friday at the Vince Naimoli Softball Field. The first game is slated for 6 p.m., with a 1 p.m., doubleheader on Saturday to follow. Live stats will be available through TampaSpartans.com.
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