No. 11/9 Softball splits two games to begin South Florida Showdown

Friday, March 17

Tampa, Fla.

1 p.m.

University of Texas

23-4-1

Marist

7-16

Marist

Texas

No. 11/9 Softball splits two games to begin South Florida Showdown

03.17.2023 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

A game-ending home run in the bottom of the seventh by South Florida spoils Texas’ bid for two wins on Friday

By: Chris Allen Brown

TAMPA, FL – On Friday, The University of Texas softball program felt the highest of highs and lowest of lows during its 9-1 win over Marist in five innings and then 4-3 defeat to USF.

The Longhorn offense exploded for nine runs across three innings — highlighted by a five-run bottom of the second — against Marist, but then was haunted by a game-ending solo home run from USF in the bottom of the seventh inning to split the day's action.

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"Obviously, it was a long day at the ballpark. I thought we did a pretty good job of coming back during the first game. Citlaly (Gutierrez) came in and did a good job for us and shut (Marist) down to get that win in five innings. But tonight (against USF), we didn't really have our A game and it showed. And it was disappointing to see us not coming out with our A stuff against a good team."

GAME NOTES

With her inside-the-park grand slam during the bottom of the second inning against Marist, Bella Dayton became the first Longhorn softball student-athlete to record consecutive grand slams in the Texas record book since Lindsey Stephens in Feb. 6-7, 2015.
- Dayton became one of three student-athletes in program history to have consecutive grand slams in the Longhorn softball record book, joining Stephens and Taylor Thorn.
Bella Dayton, with her second inning inside-the-park grand slam against Marist, became one of just 11 student-athletes in program history with two-or-more career grand slams.
- Dayton is the first Longhorn student-athlete to accomplish the career feat since Shannon Rhodes hit a grand slam against Texas Southern on March 12, 2021 for her second career grand slam.
With her hits in each game on the day, Reese Atwood extended her career-long hitting streak to six consecutive games.
- Atwood's current six-game hitting streak is tied with Courtney Day for the fifth-longest hitting streak by a Longhorn softball student-athlete this season.
Texas' Leighann Goode and Viviana Martinez will enter the Longhorns' two games on Saturday as the only Division I freshmen student-athletes in the country with 40-or-more hits.
- Goode has a team-leading 41 hits in 103 plate appearances, while Martinez has been credited with 40 hits in 92 at bats.
By drawing a full-count walk against USF Friday night, Courtney Day is now one free pass from tying her single-season walk total (15) set in 58 games throughout the 2022 season.
With her fifth-inning single to start the top of the fifth inning against USF, Mia Scott extended her on-base streak to nine games.
- Scott already holds the longest such streak by a Longhorn student-athlete this season with a 19-game on-base streak.
- Scott's current nine-game on-base streak is tied with Courtney Day for the fifth longest such streak this season.

UP NEXT

Texas (23-5-1) will continue its participation in the South Florida Showdown on Saturday, March 18, when the Longhorns play Lehigh at 1 PM CT and then Iowa at 6 PM CT.
- Iowa (17-10) split its two-game Friday slate with an 8-7 win over Marist in 11 innings, before falling to Lehigh, 3-1, in seven.
- Lehigh (17-4) opened the day by beating Iowa, 3-1, before falling to USF, 8-7, in eight innings.

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