Grand Glover: Shannon Glover leads North Florida in first-round ASUN Tournament victory
Shannon Glover blasted a walk-off three-run home run to lead the University of North Florida to a winning start in Thursday's ASUN softball tournament first round, 6-3 over Central Arkansas.
The second-seeded Ospreys advance to Friday's Game 9 of the double-elimination tournament at 4 p.m. against Florida Gulf Coast at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.
The graduate student from Oviedo cracked a three-run home run with one out in the bottom of the seventh, breaking a 3-3 tie against Central Arkansas pitcher Julia Petty (14-12).
Glover boosted UNF (34-17) from the start, hitting a two-RBI double in the top of the first to score Madisyn Federico and Hadlee Reichert, then crossing the plate herself on Chloe Culp's double for a 3-0 Osprey edge.
But Central Arkansas (25-26-1) clawed back on RBI singles from Bailie Runner and Kylie Griffin, as well as a wild pitch, before Glover's game-winner.
Allison Benning (18-10) earned the win for the Ospreys, pitching six innings of three-hit softball and striking out seven. She also reached base three times on walks.
The Ospreys got an unexpected surprise when FGCU upset top-seeded Eastern Kentucky on Thursday, bumping Eastern Kentucky into the losers' bracket.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF softball in ASUN Tournament: First-round vs. Central Arkansas
