Clermont, FL-- USCB softball won three straight games in the elimination bracket to advance to the TSC Championship yesterday evening against Thomas University (Ga.).
Game One
Down 1-5 going into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Sand Sharks rallied to score five runs and force a second game where the winner would take all.
Kylie Kelly reached base via hit-by-pitch before
Alexa Moore drove her in with a double before
Melina Martinez reached on a bunt.
Carrie Cochran put down her own bunt that brought in
Kaila Billingsley (pinch-running for Moore) and
Rachel Frankhouser followed suit with her own bunt to load the bases.
Taylor Boykin then stepped in and hit an RBI single that scored Cochran and Martinez.
USCB left the the fourth inning with the 6-5 lead and held for the remainder of the game.
Abby Pac came into the game in relief of
Maria Molloseau in the fourth inning and threw four shutout innings to earn her 19th win of the season.
Game Two
In the winner-take-all second game of the evening, Thomas University was able to outlast USCB en route to TSC Championship.
Thomas took the lead in the bottom of the first and added a third run in the second before Moore and Boykin changed the game completely. USCB was able to cut into the Night Hawks lead on a bunt that resulted in a four-base throwing error as Boykin came all the way around on the equivalent to an inside-the-park home run. Then in the in the top of the fifth, Moore crushed a two-run home run over the left field wall to tie the game 3-3.
Unfortunately that is where the offense sputtered as Thomas then responded with a four-run bottom the fifth to retake the lead 7-3 before adding on four more runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Following the championship ceremonies,
Abby Pac and
Taylor Boykin were named to the TSC All-Tournament Team. Through the tournament, Pac went 4-1, pitching 27 innings and striking out 13 batters. Boykin went 9-18 at the plate with five runs scored, two RBI's and one stolen base.
With the tournament USCB wrapped up their season with a 37-21 record and 5-2 in post-season play. They will now wait for Tuesday night to see if they earn an at-large bid for opening round play.
