TAMPA, Fla. - The Davenport University softball team began its 2020 Spring Break trip to Florida with a doubleheader at Tampa on Monday. After being shutout in game one, 3-0, the Panthers got the offense going in the nightcap, but still fell to the Spartans for the sweep, 11-5.

Davenport falls to 1-4 on the young season while Tampa, already with 16 games under its belt, improves to 11-5 with a three-game winning streak. Next up for the Panthers, they'll be in Daytona Beach on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. twinbill with another Sunshine State Conference member, Embry-Riddle. The Eagles are 8-3 and have won six of their last seven games.

In the first game of Monday's doubleheader, Davenport was held scoreless with just four hits, two of which came from Alexa Flores. In the circle, Ellie Muilenburg (1-1) gave up three runs, only two of which were earned, on eight hits with only one walk and three strikeouts. Through 13 innings pitched this season, Muilenburg's ERA is just 1.62.

In the nightcap, Davenport struck first when Rachel Griffin singled in Gabby Palazzolo in the top of the first. Tampa proceeded to take a 2-1 lead, but the Panthers knotted it up at 2-2 in the third when Palazzolo tripled in Selene Pauley. However, the Spartans poured it on in the fourth with a five-run inning, but the Panthers weren't done yet. In the fifth, Alexis Koza drew a bases-loaded walk, Briana Allen scored Flores with a sacrifice fly to center and Palazzolo brought in Hayley O'Mara with a groundout to second. That barrage cut the deficit to two, 7-5, but the home team responded with four runs in the sixth to put the game away.

Taylor Simon (0-2) gave up seven runs, six earned, in four innings before giving way to Emma Miller who surrendered four earned runs in the final two frames. At the dish for DU, Palazzolo went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and two batted in while Griffin had a pair of knocks to go with an RBI.

Story by: Cooper Weidenthaler