TAMPA ? The defending BIG EAST Regular Season Champion USF softball team (28-16 overall, 7-5 BIG EAST) will travel north to face Syracuse (15-11 overall, 4-2 BIG EAST) in a doubleheader on Saturday at the Skytop Softball Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y., with the first pitch at 11 a.m Eastern.
“We are going to try and focus on the task at hand,” said USF softball head coach Ken Eriksen. “The most mentally tough team will prevail.”
The series against Syracuse will mark the sixth and seventh meetings between the teams. The Bulls lead the series 4-1 and defeated the Orange in both games of the series (5-4, 1-0) in 2008.
The last time the Bulls traveled to Syracuse was 2007, both games were cancelled due to inclement weather.
The Teams
USF ?The Bulls split a doubleheader with Villanova on March 28, winning the first game of the day, 2-1. On March 29, USF was set back twice by Notre Dame in two close battles, 3-2 and 6-4. USF's conference record still sits above .500 at 7-5.
Several Bulls ranked top in the nation for their individual performances throughout the year and through March 22.
Junior Tara Toscano is ranked third in the nation, averaging .44 sacrifices per game. Fellow junior Cat Olnick is ranked 45th in the nation with a .427 batting average and 19th in on-base percentage (.532). Bree Spence, Cristi Ecks and Candace Howell are tied for 17th with two saves on the year.
Syracuse - The Orange started out last week by splitting a nonconference doubleheader with Buffalo. In its second doubleheader of the week, Syracuse got the better of Pitt in both games, winning 4-0 and 8-3. On Monday, the Orange split with UConn defeating the Huskies 11-7 in the first game before falling 8-2 in the second game.
Senior Stephanie Watts leads Syracuse with a .375 BA with three doubles, four triples and five home runs.
Setting The Scene
Date: April 4
Location: Syracuse, N.Y.
Game Times: 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Stadium: Skytop Softball Stadium
Syracuse Live Chat
GoUSFBulls.com will be hosting a live chat during the Bulls match up with Syracuse. Please check out GoUSFBulls.com to join in.
