Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, February 23
Tampa Bay, Fla.
3 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
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South Florida
7-3
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Eastern Michigan
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USF
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Photo by: Jason Roberts/Envision Sports Media
EMU Hangs Tough Versus No. 25 South Florida
2/23/2017 4:58:00 PM | Softball
Sophomore Nicolle Miranda threw 3.0 innings of one-hit ball in relief
TAMPA, Fla. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University softball team gave No. 25 South Florida everything it had Thursday afternoon, Feb. 23, at USF Softball Stadium. The Eagles (3-4) hung with the Bulls (7-3) early, but a three-run third inning provided USF with enough to top EMU, 4-0.
The Green and White hammered out five hits spread out amongst four players, compared to South Florida's seven base knocks. Freshman Ariana Chretien (Commerce, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) led the way with a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3. Senior Taylor Wagner (Marshalltown, Iowa-Marshalltown), junior Haley Hostetler (New Haven, Ind.-Woodlan), and freshman Danielle Rico (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Grand Terrace) also added one hit apiece.
Wagner put the Eagles in a good position early, belting a ball to the right field fence that was dropped by the USF outfielder. Scooting into second uncontested, Wagner was stranded after back-to-back strikeouts.
The fate of the Bulls was similar to that of the Eagles in the bottom half of the frame, as an error put a runner on second with one out. A hit by pitch put two on with one away, but junior Trisha Trujillo (Whittier, Calif.-California) induced a pair of ground outs to get the Green and White out of the jam.
After a quick trip to the plate for EMU, USF broke through in the second, taking advantage of a bases loaded situation. The Bulls hit a fly ball to deep center and tagged on the catch, taking a 1-0 lead with two outs. A walk reloaded the bases, but Trujillo sent the batter down on strikes to escape the inning.
Eastern Michigan put another runner on in the third, as Chretien cranked a leadoff single to left center, but a failed steal attempt combined with a strikeout and a pop up ended the inning with the Eagles trailing, 1-0.
USF plated three runs on four hits in the third, pushing its lead to 4-0, through three innings of play.
For the third consecutive inning, the Eagles put the leadoff runner aboard but failed to do much with the opportunity in the fourth, turning things over to South Florida.
The Eagles ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth, walking the first two batters of the frame. With two on and nobody out, Head Coach Melissa Gentile went to the sophomore Nicolle Miranda (Wilmington, Calif.-Port of Los Angeles) in relief. Miranda was dynamite in the circle for the Eagles, tossing 3.0 innings of one-hit ball to keep the Green and White within striking distance.
A single by Rico and a hit by pitch put two on for the Eagles in the seventh, but EMU's late rally fell short after a pair of strikeouts and a ground out ended the game, 4-0, in favor the USF.
A quick turnaround sees the Eagles return to action tomorrow morning, Feb. 24, at the second weekend of the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational. The Green and White begin the day with a game against Georgetown at 11 a.m., before taking on Brown at 1:30 p.m.
The Green and White hammered out five hits spread out amongst four players, compared to South Florida's seven base knocks. Freshman Ariana Chretien (Commerce, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) led the way with a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-3. Senior Taylor Wagner (Marshalltown, Iowa-Marshalltown), junior Haley Hostetler (New Haven, Ind.-Woodlan), and freshman Danielle Rico (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Grand Terrace) also added one hit apiece.
Wagner put the Eagles in a good position early, belting a ball to the right field fence that was dropped by the USF outfielder. Scooting into second uncontested, Wagner was stranded after back-to-back strikeouts.
The fate of the Bulls was similar to that of the Eagles in the bottom half of the frame, as an error put a runner on second with one out. A hit by pitch put two on with one away, but junior Trisha Trujillo (Whittier, Calif.-California) induced a pair of ground outs to get the Green and White out of the jam.
After a quick trip to the plate for EMU, USF broke through in the second, taking advantage of a bases loaded situation. The Bulls hit a fly ball to deep center and tagged on the catch, taking a 1-0 lead with two outs. A walk reloaded the bases, but Trujillo sent the batter down on strikes to escape the inning.
Eastern Michigan put another runner on in the third, as Chretien cranked a leadoff single to left center, but a failed steal attempt combined with a strikeout and a pop up ended the inning with the Eagles trailing, 1-0.
USF plated three runs on four hits in the third, pushing its lead to 4-0, through three innings of play.
For the third consecutive inning, the Eagles put the leadoff runner aboard but failed to do much with the opportunity in the fourth, turning things over to South Florida.
The Eagles ran into trouble in the bottom of the fourth, walking the first two batters of the frame. With two on and nobody out, Head Coach Melissa Gentile went to the sophomore Nicolle Miranda (Wilmington, Calif.-Port of Los Angeles) in relief. Miranda was dynamite in the circle for the Eagles, tossing 3.0 innings of one-hit ball to keep the Green and White within striking distance.
A single by Rico and a hit by pitch put two on for the Eagles in the seventh, but EMU's late rally fell short after a pair of strikeouts and a ground out ended the game, 4-0, in favor the USF.
A quick turnaround sees the Eagles return to action tomorrow morning, Feb. 24, at the second weekend of the EMU Madeira Beach Invitational. The Green and White begin the day with a game against Georgetown at 11 a.m., before taking on Brown at 1:30 p.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: EGGENS, C. (3-1)
L: Trujillo, Trisha (2-2)
Base Running:
SB: Peters, Alex 1
CS: Schilke, Angel 1
HBP: Logan, Olivia 1
Batting:
2B: DEVITT, L. 1 ; GROSS, M. 1 ; BOYLE, C. 1
3B: WORRELL, S. 1
RBI: WYCKOFF, K. 1 ; WORRELL, S. 1 ; GROSS, M. 1 ; BOYLE, C. 1
SF: WYCKOFF, K. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PARKER, H. 1 ; WORRELL, S. 1 ; GROSS, M. 2
HBP: KEEN, B. 1 ; BRUNI, A. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
2b/3b
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
MI/OF
/ SoftballSS/2B
/ Softball
P
/ Softball3B/2B
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
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