Tampa, Fla. ? Junior first baseman Andrea Migliori's (Winter Garden, Fla.) name is already plastered all over the Stetson softball record book but Wednesday the Hatter slugger had a day to truly remember, crushing three home runs and setting the Stetson single-season records for home runs and RBI in a doubleheader split at 28th-ranked USF. Migliori now has 19 home runs and 61 RBI on the season and is just one longball shy of tying former teammate Melissa Wiggins '06 for the Hatter career record.
Stetson suffered a heartbreaking 6-5 defeat in nine innings to the Bulls in the opener before blasting the Big East conference leaders 8-0 in the nightcap, a game that ended in six innings via the eight-run rule. Migliori had her first career two-home run game, sophomore pitcher Amanda Lindsey (Byhalia, Miss.) tossed a six-hit shutout and senior catcher Blythe Golden (Marianna, Fla.) had a three-run double.
Migliori's record-breaking shot, her 17th, came in the top of the sixth inning and tied the game 4-4. Stetson took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a Migliori RBI single but fell behind 4-1 before starting the rally back. Sophomore center fielder Amy Joyce (Lake Mary, Fla.) contributed a two-run single in the top of the fifth to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
The game went into extra innings where the Hatters struck for a run in the top of the fifth to make it 5-4. Senior right fielder Amy Peters (Niceville, Fla.) drove in freshman pinch runner Katelyn Perna (St. Petersburg, Fla.) from third base with an RBI sacrifice fly.
Unfortunately for the Hatters, the Bulls struck back for two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win. Junior righthander Erica Demers (Miami, Fla.) hit two batters in the bottom of the ninth, including plunking first baseman Jo Jo Medina with the bases loaded to force in the tying run. Third baseman Allison Savarese followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field to win the game for USF.
Demers took the loss despite allowing just one hit in two and two-thirds innings of relief of sophomore Nicole Peltz (Navarre, Fla.). Peltz made her first career start today and answered the call admirably, allowing just two earned runs in six innings, scattering 10 hits and a walk with one strikeout. Capri Catalano had five strikeouts in 2.1 relief innings to earn the win for USF and improve to a remarkable 14-0 on the season.
The Hatters bounced back from the stinging defeat with their most impressive victory of the season, winning at USF for the first time since April 26, 2000 (also an 8-0) and winning via shutout for the ninth consecutive time. The run total was Stetson's highest since beating Maine 12-1 on March 1. Stetson is now 38-21 on the season while USF is 40-15.
Migliori connected for a two-out solo home run in the top of the first to give Stetson the only run it would need. All three home runs she hit came against USF's Kristen Gordon. Migliori came up later with two runners on in the fifth and took Gordon over the left field wall for the blast that gave her the career RBI record.
In the top of the sixth, USF finally decided to intentionally walk Migliori to load the bases for senior third baseman Lindsay Wightman (Surrey, B.C.), who made the Bulls pay with an RBI single to left field. The next batter, Golden, drove a long fly ball to deep left field that would have been a grand slam home run at most ballparks; at high-walled USF Field, however, the ball hit the top of the wall and came back into play for a three-run double that brought in Migliori, Wightman and senior second baseman Nicole Forbes (Tampa, Fla.), who was playing her final game in her hometown.
Lindsey allowed six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts to earn her 21st win of the season. Gordon took the loss, giving up eight runs on eight hits and six walks with seven strikeouts. Migliori finished the second game three for three with four RBI.
The Hatters return to the road Sunday afternoon at archrival UCF. The Hatters and Knights will play a single game starting at 2 p.m. Jamie Bataille, the Voice of Hatter Fastpitch, calls all the balls and strikes; fans can hear his commentary and follow live stats through www.gohatters.com, the official website of Stetson Athletics.
