Stetson 8, USF 0

The Bulls won their 40th game of the season against Stetson University 6-5 in the first game of Wednesday’s doubleheader. With six more games left in the regular season, the long schedule might have caught up with the Bulls, who were shut out 8-0 in their second game against the Hatters.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the circle today,” coach Ken Eriksen said. “We walked a lot of people in both games, gave them extra bats, and they took the opportunity. That’s how we played this year. We’ve taken advantage of a lot of teams not being able to do the job in the circle.”

The Bulls have not been shut out while allowing eight runs or more since a 12-0 loss against then-No. 4 Arizona Wildcats.

Sophomore pitcher Kristen Gordon pitched a complete game, but gave up eight hits and eight runs in the loss to the Hatters.

“Tonight, Stetson took advantage of (our mistakes) in both games,” Eriksen said. “I thought Kristen Gordon didn’t throw the ball that poorly. She made two bad pitches but they were in situations where we had to let the runners get on base – where we don’t make errors and we don’t walk people.”

Stetson sophomore Amanda Lindsey pitched the fifth shutout against the Bulls’ season, allowing six hits in the game.

“The score could have been 1-0,” Eriksen said. “You have to tip your hat to the pitcher. (Lindsey) threw the ball extremely well and didn’t let us score. She held us to zero. Whether it’s 1-0 or 8-0, it doesn’t matter.”

In game one, the Bulls (40-14, 14-2) defeated the Hatters (38-21, 11-8) 6-5 in nine innings.

“We’re a team that had a target on its back for Stetson,” Erisken said. “They played it and we didn’t contend it.”

Despite giving up a run to the Hatters in the ninth inning, sophomore first baseman JoJo Medina was hit by a pitch, advancing to first.

The wild pitch from junior Hatter Erica Demers scored sophomore pinch runner Lauren Rodriguez to tie the game.

A sacrifice fly from sophomore third baseman Allison Savarese scored senior outfielder Kit Dunbar to give the Bulls the victory.

Stetson caught the Bulls in the middle of emotional wins against rivals DePaul and Notre Dame, with the last home game of the season against Louisville on Saturday.

“Your intensity level coming off of DePaul and Notre Dame and Louisville coming up next weekend, you’ve got to play,” Eriksen said. “You’ve got to catch the ball, you can’t walk people, you can’t catch the walks, you can’t give them extra base runners, you still have to play.”

The Bulls will now prepare for their final home game of the season against Louisville, to whom the Bulls lost in the Big East championship last season.

“It’s a tough part of the semester,” Eriksen said. “We have finals coming up next week, we can use all the excuses in the world we want, but we still have to play.