USF Softball: Struggles Against The Charlotte 49ers

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Under a windy and cloudy amongst a beautiful blue Florida sky. The USF Bulls softball team had a bad two games on Saturday. Coming into conference play with a 17-6 record, they hosted a three-game series against the Charlotte 49ers. On Friday night, it started with a walkoff 4-3 win. All the while, USF baseball was doing the same with a walkoff win for them in the stadium right next store. The first game on Saturday was to honor the military salute to service. The Bulls also had many girls’ young softball teams attend the game to watch the USF live. They were all cheering for the Bulls “Let’s Go Bulls.” The visiting crowd that was cheering on their 49ers was loud when they scored or made a big play on the field. USF was in black uniforms with neon green numbers.

Where it went bad for USF was the fourth inning as starting pitcher Julia Apostolakos gave up three runs. That would be the winning run for the 49ers even though the Bulls scored a run in the sixth off a home run by Alex Wilkes. The 49ers scored two more in the seventh to win the game 5-1. Charlotte had seven hits and the score could have been a ton more as they left seven on base. The Bulls also have seven hits but left 10 on base and committed an error. In the first game, it seemed like the 49er’s hits went where the Bulls were not. On the other hand, the Bulls could not get their runners in when they had the chance. The 49ers shined in their white tops and green pants.

Many thought the USF Bulls had a bad game in the 5-1 loss from earlier, but they were wrong. The 49ers did not wait long as they scored two runs in the first inning. After that, they put up three runs in the second and fourth and four in the third. The game was over before you knew it. The Bulls only had five hits, one run, and an error. They allowed 10 hits and Charlotte took advantage of it. The 49ers left eight runners on base so it could be worse. The game ended in the fifth because of the 10-run rule.

In the middle of the first and second games USF Baseball was down 7-6 going into the eighth only scoring six runs in that inning and taking the win 12-7. Look for the Bulls to get back at the 49ers when it comes to the conference championship at the end of the season.

So the Bulls leave their first conference series at 1-2. They now hit the road for the first time this season as they travel to Fort Myers, Florida to play the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

This team has had such a good start to the season along with them getting to over 1,500 wins for a program. Their head coach Ken Erikson got over 1,100 wins as a coach. The team can turn it around as they hit the road. Look for them to bounce back and get back to their winning ways.

Can USF Softball bounce back after a rough weekend versus the Charlotte 49ers? Leave a comment below.

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