On Friday USF swept a pair of games at home to extend their winning streak to seven games. The season long winning streak most recently claimed Wisconsin in a 3-1 come-from-behind victory and Portland State, 7-1, in the second game.
Southpaw Eric Nunn surrendered one run in the first inning and then settled in, striking out four against five hits through 5 1/3 innings. The junior hurler’s teammates evened the score in the bottom of the first when Veronica Gajownik scored on a throwing error following an Astin Donovan single.
USF took the lead in the third inning on an RBI triple from Lee Ann Spivey. The stand-up three base hit was the Bulls’ league leading eight of the season and scored D’Anna Devine from first. Spivey’s 25th RBI of the season leads the team, and the triple was her 12th of the year, also tops among USF.
In the sixth inning, USF doubled their lead when Kenya Yancy scored from second on a fielding error. Yancy entered the game as a pinch runner after Lauren Evans laced a two-out double against the 7-11 Badgers.
Right-hander Karla Claudio posted her third save of the season, pitching 1 2/3 innings with one hit and two strikeouts.
In the second game, USF topped Portland State with two big innings late in the game.
Juli Weber’s first inning RBI single scored Kristen Wyckoff and was the game’s only run until the fifth inning. The Vikings put a runner on when starter Susan Wysocki gave up a single to the leadoff hitter. The Vikings’ Lexi Goranson later scored the tying run when Bulls’ reliever Erica Nunn surrendered a pinch-hit single to Lauren Bliss.
In the bottom of the inning, USF reclaimed their lead and then some posting three runs on two homeruns. Monica Santos lead off the fifth with a solo HR over the right-center field wall, punctuating a 5-5, 1 RBI, streak in her last two games played. Mia Fung followed Santos with a single and scored when Astin Donovan tallied an inside the park homerun in the next at bat.
Donovan’s first career homerun extended the Bulls’ lead to three runs with two innings to play.
USF added three more runs an inning later to take the final 7-1 lead. Unlike the fifth inning, the scoring in the sixth was not off the long ball. Fung drove in the first run with an RBI bunt, scoring Lauren Evans from third. Donovan tallied the second RBI of the season on fielder’s choice for her third RBI of the game, a career high. Wyckoff capped the scoring for the Bulls with 15th RBI of the season on her third of hit of the game.
Claudio pitched the final two innings, registering four strikeouts and blanking the Vikings for her conference leading fourth save of the season, third in four games, and second of the day.
USF will be back on the field Saturday afternoon for another doubleheader. The Bulls will face Toledo and Mercer in Clearwater.