Looking at the past weekend for the USF Softball team, some might think it looked like a pretty good three games. The girls probably think differently. After being scheduled for a doubleheader at Rutgers and a three-game weekend series with Seton Hall, the Bulls are riding home 2-1 on the weekend. Taking a series against a conference opponent sounds like a pretty good week, but that one loss to Seton Hall snaps the team's ten-game win streak and drops the Bulls to third in the Big East standings.
When the ladies got into New Jersey, they were met with rough field conditions and heavy rain. Initially, they only delayed the 1:00 Thursday doubleheader with Rutgers an hour to see if the rain would subside. After coming to gametime again, the weather had not relented, and it was decided to cancel the two games and get a jump start on their trip to South Orange. Since the Bulls' games at Rutgers had been canceled and the team had already arrived at Seton Hall early, the teams agreed to move the doubleheader up to Friday and the final game of the series on Saturday.
It was clear in the first game that the ladies were a bit rusty after getting their warm-up game canceled. No one scored in the first five innings of the game, though the Bulls had plenty of chances. Each team squandered some good opportunities with runners in scoring position until the sixth inning where Janine Richardson drove in the Bulls' only run of the game. The score was 1-0 at the end of 5.5, but Seton Hall came back with three runs of their own, which turned out to be the deciding factor. This loss was especially painful because USF's ten game win streak had been snapped, not to mention by a team who had not gotten a conference victory until then.
The second game of the doubleheader went much more smoothly. Sara Nevins got the start, and pitched a six inning, three-hit shutout. The game was highlighted, though, by the display of offense that failed to show up in the previous game. Janine Richardson was again a big part of the offense, going 2 for 4 with a three run home run. USF ended up gathering 14 hits in a 9-0 victory.
It was pretty clear in game three that there was a bit of frustration from the previous day's loss, as Sara Nevins got the start again. As the guys from Voodoo Five put it, you've already lost at this point when you have to face Nevins. Although Nevins tossed another gem, allowing only one hit in the five-inning game, the offense again stole the show. Freshman Stephanie Medina was the star, hitting two home runs in a thrashing of the Pirates. Highlighted by a ten-run third inning, the Bulls won easily, 17-0. This marks the fourth consecutive start where Sara Nevins has allowed zero runs.
All in all, the weekend was a success, but given what could have been, the Bulls (29-16, 9-1 Big East) can't help but be a bit disappointed. The loss puts USF in third place in the Big East standings, behind Notre Dame (10-0 Big East) and DePaul (10-1 Big East). Up next for the ladies is a weekend series at home against Connecticut, followed by what could be the deciding doubleheader for the conference regular-season champions in a Wednesday doubleheader against Notre Dame and a trip to Chicago to face DePaul in the season finale. Time is running down until the Big East conference tournament, and the Bulls still have a chance to build some good momentum heading into the postseason.
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