ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Georgia College softball squad (2-6) lost a pair of games at the Eckerd College Spring Invitational Saturday. GC fell 5-4 in nine innings to No. 19 University of Tampa, and added a 6-2 loss to Florida Tech.

The Bobcats dropped a heartbreaker in the first game of the day, as the Spartans battled back to grab a 5-4 victory. Both teams showed great resiliency, with Tampa scratching across a run to tie the game 1-1 and send it to extras.

After putting up a three-spot in the top of the eighth, sophomore centerfielder Whitney Okvist (Kennesaw, Ga.) would single to leftfield, driving in a pair of Bobcats in Mikayla Sparks (Macon, Ga.) and Frankie Walls (Dahlonega, Ga.) to make the game 4-3.

A Dani Gallucci (Orlando, Fla.) single with two outs would knot the game at four, sending the game into its second extra frame.

Unfortunately, the Spartans tacked on another run in the top half and shut down the Bobcat offense in the bottom of the frame to claim the 5-4 victory. Senior Caitlin Duvall (Douglasville, Ga.) went the distance in the loss (0-2) allowing just three earned runs while scattering seven hits and fanning six.

In game two, the Bobcats led early 2-0 after two innings, getting one in each of the first two frames. Okvist singled, stole second and later scored on a groundout by Gallucci in the first.

A pair of singles by Kelsea Martin (Dacula, Ga.) and Lindsey Conway (Madison, Ga.) started the second, as Martin scored on a Logan Smith (Gordon, Ga.) sacrifice fly. Martin and Conway each finished with 2-for-2 efforts in game two.

Florida Tech got two in the third, one in the fourth and another pair in the sixth to take the game over late. Senior Sabrina Chandler (Covington, Ga.) recorded all seven innings in the loss (1-2), although she came out after four frames, she re-entered after four batters in the fifth.

The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow for the final day of this tournament, facing Barry University at 9 a.m., followed by an 11:30 start against Saint Leo University.

The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.