Galhouse Tosses Shutout, Spartans Earn Programs First Win at DII Softball Championships
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 6 | 9 | 1 |
Chattanooga, Tenn. – The University of Tampa's Softball program began their quest for the program's first national championship this afternoon. The Spartans will open the DII Softball Championships against Shippensburg University out of the Atlantic Region. Both of these programs have battled long and hard all season to reach this stage but only one team can advance into the winners bracket. Despite this being the first game in program history at the DII Softball Championships for Tampa, they knew they had what it takes to play with the best in the nation.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Records: Tampa Spartans (46-10), Shippensburg Raiders (36-21)
NCAA Tournament Path:
Tampa (5-2) - Wins over Spring Hill, Nova Southeastern, Barry, AUM 2x
Shippensburg (5-0) - Wins over West Chester, East Stroudsburg 2x, Kutztown 2x
Location: Frost Stadium at Warner Park l Chattanooga, Tenn.
History: Today's matchup was just the second meeting all-time (first meeting came in 1995) between these two programs. With the win, Tampa ties the series up at 1-1.
Final: Tampa 6, Shippensburg 0
HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME ONE:
For the opening game of the DII Softball Championships for the Spartans, it was no surprise that Senior and newly named NFCA All-American Mariah Galhouse took the circle. Galhouse came ready to play as she had to play her position perfectly on three putouts in the first two innings. She cruised through those first two innings by sitting down the first seven batters she faced. Galhouse also picked up the first hit for the Spartans in the bottom of the second and even stole second base two pitches later. Despite the early success for Galhouse, the game was still deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the third inning. In the top of the third, Galhouse and the Tampa defense worked through a one out baserunner for another scoreless inning. Using the momentum gained from stellar defense, the Spartan offense came up big in the bottom half. After Kate DeSimone and Hannah Yetter both reached base to leadoff the inning, Alexa Russo singled up the middle two batters later for a 2-0 Tampa lead. Now pitching with run support, Mariha Galhouse continued to cruise through the Shippensburg lineup. She threw up zero's in the top of the fourth and fifth innings and was rewarded with solo home runs from Abby Sulte and Kinnah Kreidler. These big blasts from Sulte and Kreidler grew the Spartan lead to 4-0 with six outs to get. The Raiders best chance to break the shutout came in the top of the sixth as their offense led off the inning with back to back singles. However, Alexa Russo made back to back defensive plays at third base to not only collect two big outs, but not let a Raider base runner advance past second. The Spartans escaped the two on, no one out jam and once again turned defensive momentum into electric offense. Looking for more insurance runs, Tampa loaded the bases and Lilly Kiester brought home two more runs for a 6-0 Spartan lead. Three outs away from the program's first win at the DII Softball Championships, Galhouse got back to work. She induced three weak ground balls that were cleanly handled by her infield to secure the complete game shutout and the opening round win for the Spartans.
INSIDE THE STATS:
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All Spartans (Starting 9) recorded one hit
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Mariah Galhouse Final Line - 7.0 IP, 7 H, 2 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER (18th Win)
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Abby Sulte and Kinnah Kreidler - 1-3, HR
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Alexa Russo and Lauren Fantone - 1-4, 2 RBI
UP NEXT: The Spartans will face Central Oklahoma in a battle to be the last undefeated team in "Bracket 2" at the DII Softball Championships. This pivital matchup will take place in less than 24 hours on Friday, May 23rd at 2:30pm ET.