May 21, 2006


The University of South Florida defeated Florida Atlantic by a score of 7-4 in the sixth and final game of NCAA Regional play in Gainesville Sunday afternoon.

The Bulls started hot, putting up two runs on the opening frame. Samantha Ray knocked a base hit to right with one out and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Christie Chapman struck out swinging, but reached on a wild pitch. Ray scored on a Krista Holle base hit up the middle and Chapman came around on a Bull base hit to right for the 2-0 lead.

Two innings later, Ray started another USF rally with an infield base hit. She stole second. Chapman walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. A Tiffany Stewart double to right scored both runners. Ashley Bullion?s second hit of the game brought in Stewart to put USF in the lead 5-0.

Ray scored her third run of the day on a Holle base hit in the top of the fifth.

USF scored its final run of the game as Carly Griffin crossed the plate on a Ray double in the top of the sixth.

The Owls attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Jenna Lopez started the rally as she was hit by a pitch with one out in the final half inning. A Shauna Corso base hit to left moved Lopez into scoring position. Danielle Arriaga followed with a second consecutive base hit to load the bases. Lopez came around to score on a passed ball for the Owls first run of the game. A Mandie Fishback base hit to second scored Corso. Marlene Lopez came in to pinch run for Fishback at first. Kala Guy?s bunt single pushed Arriaga across the plate to narrow South Florida?s lead to four runs with only one out in the inning. Lopez crossed the plate to make the score 7-4 on a Lauren Crandall fielder?s choice play that found Guy out at second. The game would end there as USF?s Cristi Ecks struck out the final batter of the game.

Ecks was the third pitcher in the win for USF to improve her record to 24-11. Jen Musillo took the loss for Florida Atlantic to end her season with a 12-9 record.


USF Head Coach, Ken Eriksen
Opening statement?
?It got a little hairy in the seventh inning. I think you can attribute that to bad luck. Sometimes you?ve just got to tip your hat to the softball gods and hope that you?ve scored enough runs so that the softball gods don?t snatch it away from you. I thought our young ladies did fantastic. For us, the heat was a big factor today. Bree Spence started and did a great job for us all week. The heat got to her a little bit. Probably three days of usage got to our last pitcher today, Cristi Ecks, who?s also been battling a little tendonitis and a really tight forearm muscle. She?s never complained all year. It got down to the time when we needed her the most and she really held up for us. If you think back on the entire ballgame today, Tiffany?s little bloop to right field was almost a back-breaker for FAU. The job that Kasey Cash did for us today with runners in scoring position when she came in and faced the two lefthanders ? that really took the fire out of FAU at that point. It made it a little easier for us to coast when we could have coasted and then suck it up when we really needed to.?

On FAU pitcher Jen Musillo?
?You have to give a lot of credit to Jen Musillo for a great job in this tournament, but you also have to give a lot of credit to the young ladies in black tops today for making adjustments and laying off a lot of junk. We watched the game against the University of Florida last night and we realized that she was throwing a lot of balls out of the zone and we were chasing a lot of those pitches. That?s where we were getting in trouble. Today, we shortened the zones a little bit and went to a two-strike mentality. We didn?t try to go with as big of swings as we have in the past and it kind of worked. We just put the ball in play and if you put the ball in play enough, good things are going to happen. We were very fortunate today in that we found some holes also.?

Cristi Ecks, Freshman
On the seventh inning?
?I knew it was going to be a fight until the end. I was just waiting for them to make it interesting. I?m glad we held out. It was a hard-fought game.?

Tiffany Stewart
On FAU pitcher Jen Musillo?
?You have to give her credit ? she?s a great pitcher. I think she only threw about 58 pitches yesterday. We saw her yesterday and we saw her last night against Florida and we were able to make some adjustments and not chase balls so much, just stay in the zone, shorten up our swings and just try and get the ball on the ground and that worked for us today.?

Florida Atlantic Head Coach, Joan Joyce
On why they lost?
?We had opportunity after opportunity. Our biggest opportunity came when we had a girl on second and third. They brought in the left hander and she struck out our next two batters. I thought that was the key because if we can score a couple runs there, who knows what could have happen. We actually hit the ball well today, but we could not capitalize. They got key hits with people on base and that proved to be the biggest difference today.?

On Jen Musillo?s performance?
?She had eight strikeouts. She did give up 11 hits, but some of those hits should not have been hits. Mental mistakes of pulling up and letting balls drop in makes it hard on a pitcher. Overall she did an awesome job this weekend.?

On next year?
?I am really excited for August when we get to get back to work and improve this team. We only lose two girls and we already have people on our team to replace them. I am really excited for next season.?

Junior first baseman Shauna Corso
On next year?
?As for next year, I am excited. I can?t wait to get back to practice and improve this team. We will be big next year.?

Junior pitcher Jen Musillo
On her pitching performance?
"Well, I felt some hits given up were balls that should have been caught, but who knows how many hits would have been given up. At some points they did hit me hard. I guess I got tired a little bit. As for next year, I can?t wait for next year!?

USF NOTES South Florida?s seven runs in the championship game was just one run less than the total number of runs scored by all teams in the previous two days of the Gainesville Regional.

This is the second year in a row USF has reached the regional championship game in Gainesville. Last season they were defeated by Bethune-Cookman.

This marks USF?s first year to advance to NCAA Super Regional play. They will face the winner of the UCLA regional.

Samantha Ray scored a season high three runs.

Ashley Bullion tied her season high with three hits.

FLORIDA ATLANTIC NOTES South Florida?s seven runs matches the most runs Florida Atlantic has given up in the post season. They also gave up seven runs to USF and Oregon State in May 2003, in Gainesville. Florida Atlantic lost both games 7-3.

Jessica Sachs finished her career with the school record for at bats with 842.

Lauren Crandall tied her season high with three hits in the game.

Florida Atlantic is now 11-14 all-time in post season play.

Jen Musillo pitched 22.2 of the 27 innings the Owls played in the Gainesville regional.

GENERAL NOTES
The two teams tallied 23 hits in the game; there were only 37 on the weekend prior to today.

The 11 runs scored by both teams is three more than in the previous five games of the regional combined.


-- Courtesy Florida