TAMPA, Fla. – No. 10 Florida Tech softball (19-4, 5-2 SSC) grabbed its 18^th win in 20 tries against the Tampa Spartans. The final score of this defensive battle was 2-0.
 
Melanie Murphy (8-4) was pitted against the only other Sunshine State Conference player to receive NFCA preseason All-American honors in Makaleigh Dooley (8-5). The Melbourne native outshined her counterpart as she tossed her seventh complete game and third shutout, second straight, of the season. During her seven-inning performance, she allowed four hits and sat two down on strikes.
 
Cheyenne Nelson had herself a day at the plate as she went 3-4 with a double. She was the lone batter to have multiple hits in the contest.
 
The game played out as many would expect as both pitchers put together dominant performances in a low scoring affair. The first three innings saw the pitchers dominant the opposition no matter the situation they faced.
 
But in the fourth, Spartan errors were the deciding factor in Tech's victory. The first of the two errors during Ally Carver's plate appearance scored Tina Velazquez Rolon, after she hit a triple to open the inning. In the very next at-bat, Tampa's right fielder committed an error after an Alexus Smith single which allowed Carver cross the bag and make the score 2-0.
 
This would end the scoring for the night as both teams defenses went back to their strong play for the final three innings of action.
 
The Crimson and Gray will look to sweep its SSC rival Saturday, March 9, when they take the field for game two and three. First pitch is scheduled for noon ET and will take at the Naimoli Family Softball Field.
 
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