USF softball heads to NCAAs after dominant American Conference tournament title

When USF erupted for four runs in the third inning of Saturday's American Conference softball final against East Carolina, the game was essentially over. Given the Bulls' dominance throughout the season and with the presence of pitcher Anne Long in the circle, there was no way the championship was going to elude the Bulls.

And it did not.

Long surrendered only one hit -- a fifth-inning homer by Hailey Deter -- and retired the last nine hitters in order after that. Fittingly, the game ended with Deter taking a called third strike to seal the Bulls' 5-1 win and automatic berth in next week's NCAA tournament regionals.

It was USF's second consecutive tournament championship.

USF will learn its opponent on the tournament selection show, which begins at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.

Head coach Ken Eriksen will be taking his 18th team to the tournament, and it's always special. But there was something extra about this team from the start. Their camaraderie and unself nature was the catalyst to a regular-season and tournament championship.

“Belief in a system that’s socialistic by nature whereupon you don’t care who gets the credit is a winning formula in team sports," he told Green, Gold and Bold.

"No one cares about your batting average. No one cares about your strikeouts. No one cares that you had injuries during the year. No one cares how many players were sick at some point of the season. All they care about is if you win."

That formula has worked tor 42 wins so far -- 40 in the regular season -- against just 15 losses.

Long has turned into the unquestioned ace of the staff. The sophomore from Sanford has won 10 of her last 11 decisions along with two saves. But in the true nature of how this team is built, she has frequently praised the Bulls' outstanding defense as a main contributor to her success.

She was the American Conference Pitcher of the Year and Softball America ranked her as the 24th best pitcher in Division I.

Second baseman Kathy Garcia-Soto was the American's Defensive Player of the Year for the third time. Her glove is a place where ground balls go to die or, even better, be turned into double plays along with all-conference first team shortstop Alex Wilkes.

"Our infield is special. No question about it. Our outfield has made consistent plays. It's the fastest three players in the outfield we've ever had at one time. The bottom line is they all work at it every day," Eriksen told GoUSFBulls.com.

"If you want more (results), you have to do more. And they do. They take more ground balls and fly balls on their own than I've ever seen. That's why we're getting above-average defensive results. This group works like crazy on its defense."

Now, the Bulls look ahead to a chance to keep the good the rolling in the double-elimination regional. If they come out on top there, they would advance to the best-of-three super regional -- the last step before the Women's College World Series.

Eriksen took the Bulls there in 2012, and he'd like to go back.

"Our team knows that the rings are what people remember. Unrecognizable teams have unrecognizable players," he saidl "So we preach that from day one. To win a bat and ball championship in the city of Tampa, with all its traditions of baseball and softball is meaningful for our team."

That has a nice ring to it.

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