Late Runs Not Enough As Tampa Drops Series Opener In St. Pete

St. Petersburg, Fla. - The University of Tampa's Softball team was back on the diamond this afternoon as they began a three game series with Eckerd College. The Spartans are coming into this weekend with a new mindset after dropping last week's series to Florida Tech. With only six games left in Sunshine State Conference play, Tampa holds just a two game lead for first place and can control their own destiny. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Records: #4 Tampa Spartans 36-7 (19-6 SSC), Eckerd 29-16 (15-10 SSC)

Location: Turley Athletic Complex l St. Petersburg, Fla

History: Today was the 130th meeting all-time between these two programs. Even with the loss, Tampa leads 106-24 in the series. 

Final: #4 Tampa 3, Eckerd 5

HOW IT HAPPENED:

With the bullseye on their backs as the number one team in the conference, the Spartans knew Eckerd was going to give them everything they had. Tampa went scoreless in the top of the first despite a Lilly Kiester single, and Eckerd went right to work. The Tritons were able to earn three straight base knocks and score the game's first run. Tampa then found themselves down 2-0 after a throwing error allowed another Triton to score. Gwen McGinnis was able to limit the damage but Tampa was in need of offense. As the game continued, McGinnis was able to settle in and threw up back to back zero's in the second and third innings. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they also continued to be held scoreless by the Eckerd starter and the Tritons held a 2-0 lead into the fourth inning. After Tampa went down in order, a costly error saw the deficit grow to five. With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, an infield error allowed a ground ball to reach the outfield wall to clear the bases. Eckerd now led 5-0 with only nine outs remaining for Tampa. The Spartans started to show some fight in the top of the fifth, responding to the Eckerd runs with one of theirs to begin closing the gap. Gwen McGinnis picked up another zero run inning as she worked around traffic on the base paths to keep the scoreline 5-1 as the game transitioned to the fifth. Tampa again showed sparks of the late comeback with an Alexa Russo RBI single to cut the lead to three runs. Gwen McGinnis kept the Spartans alive by tossing a quick inning and the score remained 5-2 going into Tampa's last three outs. Mckenna Demartino led off the top of the seventh with a base hit and the Spartans were in business to begin a comeback. Despite the next batter failing to reach base, Demartino was able to advance all the way to third on wild pitches. She would score a batter later when Ava Remirez singled up the middle and the lead was cut to two. While Tampa has been able to continue these late inning runs in past series, the Triton defense did not allow another baserunner. The Spartans for the second week in a row drop the series opener and will have to sweep tomorrow's doubleheader in order to win the three game set. 

INSIDE THE STATS: 

• Gwen McGinnis final line - 6.0 IP, 3 SO, 1 ER, 0 BB 

• Alexa Russo - 2-3 RBI

UP NEXT: These two teams will square off again in less than 24 hours as they wrap up the weekend series with an afternoon doubleheader. This Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1:00pm with the final game of the series shortly after the conclusion of game two.