Corrick, Bulls Charging Toward Tallahassee

Even after two years of stellar performances for the University of South Florida, pitching ace Georgina Corrick can’t help but be humble about herself.

When asked about how she felt about her successes this season for the Bulls, Corrick was quick to point out the valuable defensive contributions that her teammates have made and how the team’s versatility pays dividends in tough situations.

While those aspects of the game certainly can’t be understated, it also helps to have a player of Corrick’s skill level staring down batters from the circle.

The Sanford, Fla. native led the Bulls to their first ever American Athletic Conference title this year while assembling an eye-popping statistical line of her own, posting a 0.90 earned run average and racking up 241 strikeouts in 195 innings pitched. Those numbers, along with conference-leading victories and shutouts, helped net Corrick the AAC Pitcher of the Year honor for the second time (she shared it with Houston’s Savannah Heebner last season).

Though she’s dominated the conference competition for two years now, the sophomore has made great progress from her rookie season. In particular, Corrick notes how increased confidence in her off-speed pitches adds an extra dimension to her game when she’s pitching.

“This year, I really started working on a change-up, and I think that change of speed has made me much more successful than I was last year,” said Corrick.

“Last year, I was very much a rise ball and curve ball pitcher, and I was pitching around batters a lot… I’ve been able to get more comfortable with my screwball and change-up, and feel more comfortable throwing at batters in the strike zone instead of around them.”

That boost in confidence has allowed Corrick to mow down hitters with increasing efficiency, with her most dominant performance coming against rival UCF on April 12. Corrick pitched all 13 innings of that game, going toe-to-toe with the Knights’ Alea White while holding UCF to just seven hits and a walk, fanning 10 in the process as the Bulls ultimately prevailed 2-0.

Corrick’s marathon shutout performance kicked off a two-week long streak of 47.2 scoreless innings for the sophomore, as “George” struck out 57 batters during that span.

Coming on the heels of a dominant sophomore campaign, however, all Corrick and her teammates want to do is play softball - especially after their conference tournament was canceled following three days of inclement weather.

While the cancellation gave USF the AAC title by default, since they were the No. 1 seed, it was a bittersweet conclusion to the 2019 season for the Bulls.

“At the drop of a dime, we would have been ready to go out on the field,” Corrick said.

Ken Eriksen’s squad has certainly taken advantage of its extended break from game action, using that time to perfect the most successful areas of the game while also refining its team chemistry.

Even though it might be easy to get swept away by the reputation of the other teams in the regional, which includes No. 5 FSU, No. 25 South Carolina and Bethune-Cookman, Corrick says that the Bulls are ready for whoever they’ll be facing.

“Whatever team goes out on the field to play against, they’re just another team in different colors,” observed the hurler. “We want to scare people… We’re there to remind them who USF is.”

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