Florida men, LSU women win SEC indoor titles

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Top-ranked Florida won its first SEC Indoor Track and Field title since 2004, outlasting No. 5 Arkansas on Sunday at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

The Gators won the title for the first time since 2004 and ended a six-year winning streak by the Razorbacks at the SEC Indoors. Florida had 148 points while Arkansas had 136.50.

Florida entered with a two-point lead on the Razorbacks, but pulled away to finished with 148 points, thanks to first-, second- and third-place finishes in the triple jump and top finishes in the men's mile, 200 meters, 60 meters and 60 hurdles.

"You look at what happened today, it's a cumulation of when we sat down back in August and started working," Gators coach Mike Galloway said. "We've got an incredible amount of talent, but we could have lost if we don't keep our focus."

No. 2 LSU ran away with the women's title after strong performances in 200 meters and 60 hurdles on Sunday. The Lady Tigers scored 135 points while runner-up Arkansas had 118.

The win was the first for the LSU women at the SEC indoor meet since 2008.

Christian Taylor was the perhaps the biggest Florida star of the day.

Taylor set a new SEC indoor meet record with a triple jump mark of 56 feet, 11 inches, breaking the previous record of 56-2 feet, 2 set by LSU's Walter Davis at the 1992 meet.

Taylor also helped the Gators to a second-place finish in the 1600-meter relay, the final event Sunday which helped clinch the victory.

"Some people say this is a home-field advantage (for Arkansas)," Taylor said. "But we knew we had the talent and we just had to find a way to do it, and we did it."

Sophomore Jeff Demps, who also stars on the Gators' football team, won the 60 meters in an NCAA-qualifying time of 6.55, while junior Dumisane Hlaselo — the individual points leader for the weekend — scored 10 points Sunday with a narrow win in the mile.

"You talk about Christian, you can talk about Eddie (Lovett), you can talk about Tony McQuay," Galloway said. "I thought the biggest star might have been Dumisane Hlaselo."

LSU finished third in the men's standings with 98 points, followed by Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

The Tigers won the women's title by holding off Arkansas and Tennesse, which was third with 78 points. They were followed by Auburn, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.

"We had some great break-through performances, which is always great to have at a championship meet," LSU coach Dennis Shaver said. "It's good to win this but our goal, as always, is to see what we can to at the national championship meet. But certainly I think we helped ourselves a lot in Fayetteville this weekend."

Florida Earns No. 8 Seed for SEC Tournament

The University of Florida women’s basketball team earned the No. 8 seed in the Southeastern Conference Tournament held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

The Gators (17-13, 7-9 SEC) will play Arkansas (18-10, 6-10), the No. 9 seed, in the first round of the 12-team, four-day event on Thu., March 3 beginning at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT).

Florida and Arkansas squared off in the SEC season-opener on January 2 when the Gators upset the then-22nd-ranked Razorbacks, 64-53, and handed them their first loss of the year.

2011 SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament March 3-6 * Bridgestone Arena (17,576) * Nashville
Game	Teams	Time, ET [TV]
FIRST ROUND - Thursday, March 3
Game 1	#8 FLORIDA vs. #9 Arkansas	1 p.m. [FSN]
Game 2	#7 LSU vs. #10 Alabama	3:30 p.m. [FSN]
Game 3	#5 South Carolina vs. #12 Ole Miss	7:30 p.m. [FSN]
Game 4	#6 Auburn vs. #11 Mississippi St.	10 p.m. [FSN]
SECOND ROUND - Friday, March 4
Game 5	#1 Tennessee vs. Game 1 winner	1 p.m. [FSN]
Game 6	#2 Kentucky vs. Game 2 winner	3:30 p.m. [FSN]
Game 7	#4 Georgia vs. Game 3 winner	7:30 p.m. [FSN]
Game 8	#3 Vanderbilt vs. Game 4 winner	10 p.m. [FSN]
SEMINFINALS - Saturday, March 5
Game 9	Game 5 winner vs. Game 7 winner	4:00 p.m. [ESPNU]
Game 10	Game 6 winner vs. Game 8 winner	6:30 p.m. [ESPNU]
FINAL - Sunday, March 6
Game 11	Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner	5:30 p.m. [ESPN2]

Florida Upsets No. 22 Georgia on Senior Day, 74-71

Led by a career-high 22 points from freshman Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.), the University of Florida women’s basketball team (17-13, 7-9 SEC) upset No. 22 Georgia (20-9, 10-6 SEC) on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Just like their SEC-opening win on Jan. 2, the Gators closed their regular season at home with an upset of the nation’s 22nd-ranked team, defeating then-No. 22 Arkansas, 64-53. Sunday’s win for the Orange and Blue was the first time in the long series history against Georgia that Florida won three consecutive at home versus the Lady Bulldogs.

The win also marked the 45th upset win over a higher-ranked team in program history, as well as the 26-th time Florida has earned a win against a ranked opponent when UF entered the match-up unranked.

No. 1 Baseball Sweeps Boston College, 7-2

No. 1 Florida (7-0) finished off a three-game sweep of Boston College (2-4) with a 7-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at McKethan Stadium in front of 4,213 fans. The Gators continued their best start since the 2002 club shot out of the gates with 11-straight wins.

Freshman Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.) (2-0) gave up one run on five hits and had five strikeouts over 5.1 innings to earn the decision. The right-hander had started his collegiate career with 10.1 scoreless innings until allowing an RBI single to junior Anthony Melchionda (2-for-4) in the sixth inning. Sophomore Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs, matching his career high for hits.

“We built ourselves a 5-0 lead and with our pen and with the way we are throwing the ball, I like our chances,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I thought we did squander some at-bats and I think Karsten (Whitson) retired seven in a row but we have to do a better job at tacking on one more run here and there because you never know what run is going to come back to help or haunt you.”

On the play of Zunino, O’Sullivan commented, “There is so much on his plate with calling games and handling the pitching staff that anything that he gives us offensively is obviously a plus. We have him hitting right there in the middle of the order for a reason because last year he was hitting the ball as hard as anyone on the team and today was a great day for him.”

UF broke through for four runs on three hits in the second inning against BC senior righty John Leonard (1-1), highlighted by an RBI single by sophomore Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.), a two-run triple by sophomore Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.) and a sacrifice fly by senior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.). Zunino started things off with his second double and was sacrificed over by junior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (2-for-3). A four-pitch walk to junior Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.) left runners on the corners and Washington legged out an infield hit to third base that scored Zunino with the game’s opening run. Fontana rifled his first triple of the season into the right-field corner to clear the sacks and Adams drove in his teammate with his second sac fly of the year to straightaway center field.

The Gators increased their lead to 5-0 in the third inning on a two-out infield single by Pigott after sophomore Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) had smacked a one-out triple to deep center field.

Junior Marc Perdios (2-for-4) singled through the left side to begin the fourth for the Eagles’ first hit off Whitson. Melchionda stroked a one-out single into right field for a couple of runners aboard and a fielder’s choice by senior Mike Sudol erased Melchionda but left runners on first and third with two down. Whitson answered with a strikeout of junior Andrew Lawrence to preserve the 5-0 lead.

Perdios and sophomore Matt Watson (2-for-4) collected back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth and Whitson uncorked a wild pitch to advance both runners. Melchionda followed with a base-hit up the middle to put the Eagles on the board and prompt a pitching change. Junior Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) replaced Whitson (5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 5 K, 1 BB) and struck out both Sudol and Lawrence to strand the runners.

“I think my mind-set going into every game is that it’s not about the strikeouts,” Whitson said. “It’s about going out there and I have to keep the ball in the zone and let my defense work behind me. Today I only had four or five strikeouts, but I wasn’t even worried about that. I was worried about pitching.”

Senior Matt Hamlet and freshman Tom Bourdon notched consecutive one-out singles off junior Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) in the seventh before the right-hander induced a fielder’s choice by junior Brad Zapenas that forced Bourdon at second base for out number two. Zunino then gunned down Zapenas attempting to steal second to end the inning. It was the first stolen-base attempt against the Orange and Blue this season.  

Senior Nate Bayuk took over for Leonard (6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R) prior to the home part of the seventh and issued a lead-off walk to senior pinch hitter Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.). Smith moved into scoring position with his first stolen base and went to third on a grounder by Adams, however, Bayuk had junior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) pop up to hold the margin at 5-1.

Sophomore Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) greeted junior reliever Mike Dennhardt with a single to open UF’s eighth and scored on Zunino’s second homer of the campaign into the left-field bleachers for 7-1 score. After Larson threw two scoreless frames, giving up three hits, Maddox took over on the hill. Sophomore Rob Moir had a pinch-hit single with one down and scored on a pinch-hit RBI double by sophomore Matt McGovern to finalize the scoring at 7-2. Maddox caught junior pinch hitter Spenser Payne looking on strikes and had Bourdon fly out to end the contest.

The Gators return to action on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against No. 8 Florida State (7-0) in the first of four regular-season meetings between the Sunshine State rivals as part of the Florida Four held at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. USF (1-4 entering today’s action) will tangle with Miami (Fla.) (4-3) to begin the event at 4 p.m.

Gators Claim Four SEC Titles on Saturday

Four Southeastern Conference individual championships, four NCAA automatic-qualifying marks/times and two school records Saturday highlighted Florida’s performance on the second day of the 2011 SEC Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Arkansas at its Randal Tyson Track Center.

The No. 1 Gator men lead the overall competition headed into the final day with 41 total team points, while No. 5 Arkansas is second with 39 points and No. 2 LSU is third with 30 points. The No. 21 Florida women currently are in seventh place in the team race with 16 points. No. 6 Tennessee leads the women’s side with 36 points, while No. 2 LSU is second with 29 points and No. 4 Arkansas is third with 25 points.

Florida athletes claimed four SEC individual titles on Saturday as junior Dumisani Hlaselo (South Africa) won the men’s 3,000m run, junior Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) captured the first men’s heptathlon title in school history, junior Fidela James (Jacksonville, Fla.) won the women’s weight throw and senior Kemal Mesic (Sarajevo, Bosnia) claimed the men’s shot put title for the second consecutive year.

“I’m very excited about today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “We talked a lot about matching the passion and intensity of this competition and I thought we did that. I am very, very proud of everybody across the board and I’m really, really excited about tomorrow.”

Florida qualified a total of 13 athletes (9 men, 4 women) for the finals in their respective events. The final day of the SEC Indoor Championships begins Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.

No. 13 Gators Fall to No. 22 Wildcats, 76-68

The No. 13 Florida Gators played a tight first half but couldn’t find their footing in the second, as they fell to the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats, 76-68, at Rupp Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Florida (22-6, 11-3 SEC) had four players in double figures, led by sophomore Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) with 21 points. Senior Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.) had 15 points, while junior Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior Vernon Macklin (Portsmouth, Va.) had 10 points apiece.

In a first half that featured 10 ties and seven lead changes, both teams had mini runs of four or five that stopped momentum whenever the other began to get into a rhythm and pull away.

Florida had solid point production from all of its contributors, as Walker had a team-high eight points in the first half. The Gators were a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, taking advantage of their presence in the paint. Florida led by no more than three points as Kentucky always seemed to have an answer for the Gators’ three-pointers. 

The Wildcats began the second half on a 5-0 run, sparked by a Doron Lamb trey. The Gators hit three three-pointers in a row, courtesy of Parsons and two by Boynton, to tie the game at 41. Brandon Knight stopped the Florida momentum with a trey of his own, but senior Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) cut through the Wildcat defense for a layup to cut their lead to 43-44 heading into the media timeout.

The teams traded buckets back and forth as Kentucky began to pick up the tempo, taking a 54-49 lead into the second media timeout. A DeAndre Liggins jumper gave the Wildcats the lead at 58-49, finishing a 10-2 run. Parsons hit a much-needed trey as the Gators were finally able to stop the Kentucky run. Lamb answered with a trey of his own to widen the gap back to nine.

A Walker steal off of Liggins gave the Wildcats their first turnover in nearly 17 minutes of action, but the Gators couldn’t capitalize on the Kentucky miscue as Eloy Vargas blocked Walker’s trey attempt. A Miller trey gave the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 69-58. 

An in-bounds layup by Parsons put the Gators back within nine and Florida scored its first 2nd chance point with a Tyus free throw with 3:45 remaining in the contest, putting Florida within eight at 69-61. A Terrence Jones jumper put the Wildcats back up by double-digits with 2:10 remaining before Brandon Knight made two free throws to give Kentucky its largest lead of the afternoon of 11.

Boynton was able to stop the Kentucky momentum with a trey and Macklin grabbed a rebound off a Kentucky free throw attempt, pushing the Gators within eight before Parsons fed Tyus inside for a layup with 40 ticks remaining, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to six, 74-68. Two made free throws by Knight sealed the win for Kentucky and gave Wildcats Head Coach John Calipari his 500th career victory.

The Gators return to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Tuesday evening for the last time this season, as seniors Vernon Macklin, Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus will be honored when Florida takes on Alabama at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU.

Florida Softball Improves to 14-0 With 7-3 Victory Over Utah

Off to the second-best start in program history, the No. 4/5 UF softball team wrapped up its stint at the Cathedral City Classic with a 7-3 victory over Utah Saturday to improve to 14-0 on the season. The Gators were 5-0 on the weekend, defeating Indiana, No. 11/12 Texas, San Diego State, No. 2/2 UCLA and Utah in the three-day tournament at the Big League Dreams Complex in Palm Springs.

Junior Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) and senior Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Fla.) led the Gators in California, Moultrie going 10-for-17 (.588), including three triples and a double with nine RBI, five runs and 17 total bases, while drawing three walks. Paculba checked in at 9-for-18 (.500), ripping two doubles, tallying four RBI and drawing two walks.

Through the first 14 games of the season, Florida has put up 110 runs to opponents’ 14, while dropping 22 home runs, including a Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) solo shot to left field against Utah, compared to just three from Gator opponents.

Bush’s solo homer counted as UF’s first run of the day at the bottom of the fourth, evening the score after the Utes got on the board first in the top half of the fourth inning. The Gators put up one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and four in the sixth to fend off Utah, who tallied three runs on the day with one each in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.

Gator senior Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) chalked up the win for the Orange and Blue, improving to 8-0 after 6.2 innings of work. The right-handed ace allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits, while striking out three. After four walks at the top of the seventh, which allowed the third and final Utah run of the game, freshman righty Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) came on in relief for the final out of the inning, earning her first career save and striking out Utah’s Sweet swinging. Rogers chalked up three big wins for the Gators in Palm Springs, earning victories over Indiana, No. 11/12 Texas and No. 2/2 UCLA. Rogers struck out 22 on the weekend in 16.2 innings of work, allowed just one run on nine hits and walked just three.

Following Bush’s home run in the fourth, the Utes took the 2-1 lead with a one-run fifth, but UF was quick to respond with two runs of their own at the bottom half of the fifth inning. Pinch runner Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.), running for sophomore Samantha Holle (Tampa, Fla.), who reached on a single to left field, scored after a Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs, Fla.) sacrifice bunt that advanced her to third and a hard-hit Moultrie triple down the right line. Moultrie scored the second run of the fifth after a Paculba single to give UF a 3-2 advantage.

The Gators held the Utes scoreless in the top half of the sixth, but poured it on in the bottom of the inning with four runs. Bush kicked off the sixth with a walk, followed by a Schutte single and a Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.) fielder’s choice that eliminated Ellie Langley (Spring Hill, Fla.), running for Bush. With runners on first and second, a Gammel groundout advanced both, setting up a run for pinch hitter Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.), who singled to drive in Schutte and advance Coyle to third. Horton’s pinch runner, Ashley Snedeker (Bloomington, Minn.), then stole second, allowing freshman Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) to drive in Coyle following a base hit of her own. Fagan proceeded to light up the base paths, stealing second to place two runners in scoring position, yet again. Moultrie, up to bat at the top of the UF lineup, came up big for the Orange and Blue, delivering a triple to the left-center fence to bring in both Snedeker and Fagan, extending the Florida lead, 7-2, into the top of the seventh, when the Utes capitalized on the four Brombacher walks of the game, resulting in a 7-3 final.

FLORIDA CATHEDRAL CITY CLASSIC SCORES

Feb. 24

Florida 7, Indiana 0

Florida 6, No. 11/12 Texas 5

Feb. 25

Florida 4, SDSU 2

Florida 4, No. 2/2 UCLA 1

Feb. 26

Florida 7, Utah 3

No. T-15 Arkansas Gymnastics Upsets No. 1 Florida 196.70-196.10

The No. 1 University of Florida gymnastics team (11-1, 5-1 SEC) saw its undefeated season end Friday with a 196.70-196.10 loss at No. T-15 Arkansas (5-3-, 5-1 SEC) Friday evening in front of a Barnill Arena crowd of 3,174.

Breaks in each of Florida’s first three events led to the meet being tied heading into the final rotation. The Gators needed a strong balance beam set to put themselves in position to challenge for the team title. But the first beam falls of the collegiate careers of its two all-arounders (Alaina Johnson and Ashanée Dickerson) forced the Gators to count a miss toward its team total for the first time this season. The Gators’ beam total of 48.55 put them six-tenths behind the Razorbacks in the final team standings. 

UF Head Coach Rhonda Faehn said she felt trouble was coming as she watched the team warm-up.

“It really started from the warm-up. I thought they did a really poor job there and they carried it over into the competition, unfortunately,” Faehn said. “They need to use this as a huge learning experience. I told them this is not the team that performed at Georgia a couple of weeks ago. The fact is, this was a completely different team out here tonight.

“We were extremely disappointed in the way so many of the athletes on the team just didn’t have focus tonight. They all just allowed it to happen,” she continued. “I didn’t see anyone stepping up to take a leadership role to get them on the right path – and that was really disappointing.”

This is the Gators’ second consecutive visit to Barnhill which ended in a loss. Florida also brought the No. 1 ranking into the 2009 meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., as the Razorbacks claimed the first win in the all-time series, 196.375-195.425.

Tonight’s win is the second home upset of a top-five team for the Razorbacks this month, as they claimed a 195.775-195.40 win over then No. 4 Georgia on Feb. 4.

The Gators had trouble throught tonight’s competition. Florida opened the meet with a team total of 49.20 on the uneven bars, as a few of the Gator scores were held back by form breaks. Freshman Mackenzie Caquatto collected her third consecutive bars title at 9.925.

The Gators posted a 49.375 on the vault, as three Gators turned in marks of 9.90 or better. Dickerson shared her fourth vault title of the season with Arkansas junior Jaime Pisani at 9.925. Florida’s Maranda Smith and Alaina Johnson plus Arkansas’ Michelle Stout shared third overall at 9.90.

An out-of-bounds and a pair of low landings on final tumbling passes kept the Gators’ floor exercise team total below 49 points for only the second time this season. Dickerson led the Gators on the event with her 9.90 – her fifth floor mark of the season of 9.90 or better. She shared the meet title with UA’s Pisani.

Pisani won the all-around at 39.60, followed by Dickerson (38.95) and Johnson (38.575).

The UF-Arkansas meet airs tape-delayed on CSS (Gainesville/Ocala cable channel 259) on March 3 at 9 p.m.

The Gators finish the 2011 regular-season slate next Friday when they meet perennial power Utah in Salt Lake City. Meet time is set for 9 p.m. ET on March 4.

Florida versus Arkansas Final Team Totals
Feb. 25, 2011 ● Barnhill Arena (3,174)
Team	Vault	Bars	Beam	Floor	Total
Arkansas	49.250	49.200	49.100	49.150	196.700
Florida	49.375	49.200	48.550	48.975	196.100

No. 4/5 Florida Softball Defeats No. 2/2 UCLA and San Diego State Friday

Florida used a four-run sixth inning rally Friday to upset the No. 2/2 UCLA Bruins, 4-1, on the second day of the Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., after defeating San Diego State University, 4-2, just a half hour before. The fourth-ranked Gators improved to 13-0 on the season, moving to 3-0 all-time versus the Aztecs (5-6) and narrowing the series with the defending national champion Bruins, 2-3, as UCLA chalked up its second loss of 2011 (10-2). 

Florida plays its fifth and final game of the 2011 Cathedral City Classic Saturday when it takes on the team from Utah at 10:30 a.m. (PST). UF is 1-1 all-time against The Utes and will be looking for its second tournament sweep of the 2011 season after winning all five games at the season-opening USF Wilson DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater, Fla.

No. 1 Baseball Clinches Series Over Boston College, 9-3

No. 1 Florida (6-0) plated three runs in the seventh to snap a 3-3 tie en route to a 9-3 victory over Boston College (2-3) on Friday night. The Gators’ 20th-straight win at McKethan Stadium secured the weekend series, which will wrap up on Sunday at 1 p.m. Junior Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) was 3-for-4 with a homer and drew a bases-loaded walk with one down in the seventh that brought in senior Bryson Smith (Watkinsville, Ga.) with the winning run. Freshman Daniel Gibson (Lutz, Fla.) (1-0) earned his first collegiate win, while sophomore starter Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) permitted one run in five innings of work.

“It was a good ballgame, I compliment their starting pitcher (Eric Stevens) for his first collegiate start,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He did a nice job, mixed his pitches and threw strikes. Their infield defense was really good, they made some outstanding plays tonight and they didn’t give us much the first half of the game or so.”

“Boston College is well-coached, they’re in the ACC, and they have quality pitching. It was a good test for us but it’s still early in the season. We’re going to go through some things and get better as we go along but it was a good test for us for sure.”

 “I think that this close game was good for us,” Tucker said. “Our hitters responded just the way our coaches wanted us to, and I think we had a lot of pep in the dugout right after their two-run inning.”

In the first inning, UF senior Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) extended his season-opening hitting streak to six games with a one-out single off freshman Eric Stevens and Tucker followed with a base-hit into center field for two runners aboard. However, Stevens worked out of jam by setting down sophomore Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.) on a fly-out and had sophomore Brian Johnson’s (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) grounder force Tucker at second base.

Tucker opened the scoring with a two-out solo homer in the third into the left-field bleachers. It was his second homer of the season and increased his team-leading RBI total to eight. Tucker has four multiple-hit games already this season in six outings and is 13-for-25 (.520) with an .880 slugging percentage.

Randall retired the first nine BC hitters of the game before yielding a lead-off single in the fourth to junior Brad Zapenas (2-for-4, two RBI). Following a line-out by sophomore Matt Watson to sophomore shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.), junior third baseman Jeff Moyer (Winter Garden, Fla.) made a tremendous defensive stop and relay throw to beat junior Anthony Melchionda. With Zapenas in scoring position at second base, Randall had senior Mike Sudol ground out to end the frame.

Junior Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.) (2-for-2) provided the Gators with a 2-0 lead in the fourth with a two-out RBI single. Johnson (3-for-5, three RBI) started the inning with a single into left and was sacrificed over on a bunt by junior Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) (2-for-4). Moyer advanced Johnson with a grounder to first base and McMahan drove in his first run of the season with a base-knock just beyond the reach of third baseman Melchionda.

The Eagles cut the deficit in half in the fifth on an RBI grounder by senior Garret Smith that brought across junior Andrew Lawrence, who had begun the stanza with a double to straightaway center field. Lawrence took third on a grounder by sophomore Matt McGovern and come home on Smith’s grounder to second base. It was the first run scored by BC in the series and just the second run allowed by Florida’s starting pitchers in 31.2 innings this year. The Eagles notched back-to-back two-out singles by senior Matt Hamlet and freshman Tom Bourdon before Fontana made a diving stab on Zapenas’ liner to end the inning.

Randall departed after five full innings in which he gave up four hits and one run, with four strikeouts and zero walks. Junior Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) induced a lead-off grounder by Watson in the sixth that Fontana scooped up but an error on McMahan allowed the runner to reach. After the left-hander had Melchionda ground into a 4-6-3 double play, Sudol delivered a two-out double into left field. Maronde stranded the runner by having junior pinch hitter Marc Perdios ground out.

Stevens allowed seven hits and two runs over five innings and was replaced by junior Kyle Prohovich (0-1). Tucker led off UF’s sixth with his third hit of the night and went to second on a balk. Prohovich had Johnson line out and uncorked a wild pitch with two down that pushed Tucker to third. On a very close play at first base, Pigott legged out an infield single to give Florida a 3-1 advantage.  

BC knotted the game at 3-3 in the seventh on a clutch two-out, two-run triple by Zapenas. McGovern had started the inning with a bunt single, ending the night for Maronde (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R). Smith greeted junior reliever Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) with a single into right field and the right-hander had Hamlet bunt strike three foul for the first out. Gibson was summoned from the bullpen and caught Bourdon looking on strikes before surrendering a three-bagger to Zapenas into left center that tied the game. The Gators preserved the 3-3 tie when freshman third baseman Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.) pulled off the hidden ball trick and caught Zapenas wandering off third base.   

On the Gators’ execution of the hidden ball trick, O’Sullivan said, “They do it all the time in practice and the impressive thing is that it was two freshmen – (Daniel) Gibson on the mound and (Zack) Powers trying to pull it off – and it did change the momentum. Gibson was extremely fired up and obviously it’s not going to happen very often but it certainly changed the momentum of the game.”

The Gators countered with four-straight walks and a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the inning to seize a 6-3 lead. Smith and Fontana earned consecutive free passes with one down and both advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch by Prohovich. A walk to Adams filled the bags and prompted a pitching change, as junior Matt Brazis took over for Prohovich (1.1 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 BB). The reliever walked Tucker to bring in Smith and Maddox followed with a single through the left-side that plated Fontana for a 5-3 margin. Moments later, Johnson ripped a single into center to score Adams to make it six-consecutive Gators reaching base. Brazis prevented further damage by striking out Pigott and having Powers fly out to left field.

A one-out walk to Melchionda and a single to Sudol in the eighth caused another pitching change, with junior Tommy Toledo (Tampa, Fla.) replacing Gibson (1.0 IP, 2 H) on the hill. The righty fanned sophomore pinch hitter Rob Moir and had McGovern ground out.

Florida tacked on three more insurance runs in the home part of the frame on a pinch-hit double by sophomore Kamm Washington (Boynton Beach, Fla.) and a two-out, two-run single by Johnson that boosted the lead to 9-3. Sophomore Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.) had drawn a lead-off walk from redshirt freshman Matt Alvarez and scored all the way from first base on a pinch-hit double by Washington. After Washington’s two-bagger, Fontana and Adams each walked to load the bases and cause another call to the bullpen. Freshman Steve Green retired Tucker and Maddox but then surrendered a base-hit through the left side by Johnson that scored Washington and Fontana to close the scoring.

Junior Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) retired the side in the ninth and registered two strikeouts as Florida improved to 6-0 for the first time in O’Sullivan’s tenure. The hosts also held a 14-9 advantage in hits.

Key UF assistant will be paid $2.5 million

GAINESVILLE - Florida released its assistant football coaches’ salaries on Friday, which will make up new coach Will Muschamp’s staff, with new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis agreeing to a deal that will pay him more than $2.5 million over three years.
Florida released its assistant football coaches' contracts on Friday to Florida Today per an open records request.

The 2011 staff will make a combined $3.03 million in base salaries plus $10,000 each as part of the Nike apparel contract to bring the total just over $3.1 million.

Weis and Quinn left the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks, respectively, to return to the college ranks. Weis gets $765,000 in 2011 but also received a $100,000 signing bonus. His 2012 and 2013 salary will be $865,000 per year. Quinn gets $490,000 in 2011 and $510,000 in 2012.

While Quinn's salary approaches what Charlie Strong made in his final year as defensive coordinator at UF in 2009, Weis's pact is by far the most lucrative ever given to a Gators' assistant coach in football.

Offensive line coach Frank Verducci ($290,000 per year) and defensive line coach Bryant Young ($230,000) were also given two-year contracts. New running backs coach Brian White, part of Urban Meyer's staff, will make $240,000 in 2011 and returning linebackers coach D.J. Durkin will make $265,000.

New secondary coach Travaris Robinson ($230,000), receivers coach Aubrey Hill ($230,000) and tight ends coach Derek Lewis ($190,000) complete the staff.

Horn Sits In First Place After Day One of SEC Heptathlon

Junior Florida multi-event athlete Gray Horn (Waynesfield, Ohio) leads the heptathlon Friday after the first day and freshman Brittany Harrell (McComb, Miss.) placed seventh in the women’s pentathlon to highlight the opening day of the 2011 Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships hosted by the University of Arkansas at its Randal Tyson Track Center.

Horn currently sits in first place in the heptathlon with a first-day score of 3,212, which is just shy of his personal-best and school-record first-day score of 3,242. Arkansas’ Kevin Lazas is in second place with a four-event total of 3,186, while Georgia’s Michael Ayers is in third with a total of 3,121.

Harrell finished seventh in the pentathlon, scoring two team points for the Gators, with a personal-best score of 3,771. That topped her previous personal-best tally of 3,731, set at the Texas A&M Challenge on Jan. 28. Kentucky’s Precious Nwokey won the event with an NCAA automatic-qualifying score of 4,185, while Georgia’s Lucie Ondraschkova was second with 3,995 points.

“I thought both of our athletes did a good job today,” Florida head coach Mike Holloway said. “For Brittany to come in as a freshman and score in a tough event like that is a great indicator of her future here. I thought Gray did a great job in the first three events and then made some technical errors in the high jump. He’s still leading and he has a chance to come out tomorrow – he’s never won this event – and do what he’s capable of doing.”

Horn opened the day by winning the 60-meter dash in a time of 6.99, which was just shy of his personal-best time of 6.98. He then followed up with a personal-best leap of 7.35m/24-1.50 in the long jump to place second in that event. That bettered his previous personal-best of 7.28m/23-10.75 set at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Horn posted a fourth-place finish in the shot put with a toss of 13.20m/43-3.75 before finishing out the day with a third-place finish in the high jump at 1.94m/6-4.25.

“A lot of things went my way today, and some things didn’t,” Horn said. “That’s just how the heptathlon works. I’m sure if you talk to every competitor out there, they aren’t happy with every performance they had today. I’m in the lead going into tomorrow with my best event – the hurdles – next. I’m excited for that and I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve done all year, and try to bring this title home.”

Harrell began the pentathlon with a multi-event-best time of 8.77 to place sixth in the 60-meter hurdles. It was just shy of her collegiate-best time of 8.72 in that event. She followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the high jump at 1.67m/5-5.75.

Harrell turned in a personal-best toss of 11.16m/36-7.50 to place fourth in the shot put, shattering her previous personal-record toss of 10.92m/35-10, charted at the Texas A&M Challenge earlier this season. That performance catapulted her into fourth place in the event at the time. Harrell then was ninth in the long jump with a leap of 5.39m/17-8.25. She capped off the day with a personal-best time of 2:27.82 in the 800-meter run.  

Harrell’s pentathlon score went down as one of the top-five in UF school history.

 “As long as I can score some points for the Gators, I’m happy,” Harrell said. “It started off great today with my second-best time in the hurdles and I thought I did a pretty decent job in the high jump. I moved into fourth after the shot put with my PR in that, but it wasn’t my best long jump. I ran my PR in the 800, so overall I was happy with my performance.”

Florida WBB Upsets Vanderbilt, 74-69, for First Win in Nashville since 2004

The University of Florida received total team effort and upset Vanderbilt, 74-69, at Memorial Gym Friday evening.

In a game that was originally scheduled to be played on Thursday, but severe weather in the Nashville area forced officials to postpone the game until Friday evening, the Gators shot 60 percent in the second half when they outscored the Commodores 51-45 to earn their first victory against Vanderbilt in Nashville since Feb. 1, 2004.

The win also snapped a seven-game losing streak to Vanderbilt which held the longest active win streak of any Southeastern Conference team against the Gators. Additionally, Vanderbilt was the 10th of 11 different league teams that has fallen to UF’s fourth-year head coach Amanda Butler, who is a native of Mt. Juliet, Tenn., located just minutes from the Vanderbilt campus.

Florida (16-13, 6-9 SEC) used a 7-0 spurt to take a 58-47 lead with 8:08 remaining after Antioch, Tenn., native Ndidi Madu knocked down a 10-footer from straight away.

Vanderbilt (18-10, 9-6 SEC) rallied with a 13-4 run and closed the Gator lead to two points with 5:33 remaining.

Florida remained composed and got back-to-back driving layups from Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.).

Following a pair of Vandy free throws, Bartley recognized a mismatch inside and fed Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England), who dumped in the short shot with 1:59 on the clock and gave UF a 68-62 lead.

Neither team could score for the next minute-plus, before VU’s Christina Foggie nailed a three-pointer with 28 seconds remaining and the hosts called a timeout, down three.

Stewart stepped to the line and hit both ends of the one-and-one with 24.2 ticks on the clock, but fouled out 10 seconds later and UF’s inside game was at a loss since George had already fouled out of the game.

Tiffany Clarke converted both free throws after drawing the foul on Stewart and brought Vanderbilt within three again, 70-67, with 14.6 on the clock.

Bartley was clutch from the line, as she coolly nailed four straight, two with 13.6 seconds and the others with 5.4 remaining.

Vanderbilt senior Jence Rhoads hit a bucket as the final hour sounded to end the scoring, but it was too late as Florida captured its third true road victory of the year.

Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) led all scorers with 16 points, as the Gator junior hit 4-of-7 three-pointers and tied her career-high of six rebounds.

Stewart netted her fifth career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Bartley recorded 15 points with six rebounds and seven assists. Madu chipped in all of her six points in the second half, while Bonds added eight points as all nine Gators who suited up for the game scored.

“I’m just so happy for our team, they’ve practiced so hard and prepared so well and we dealt with the Thursday’s delay with such focus,” Butler said. “We were focused and maintained energy. We had players foul out but had others step up in their absence with big minutes. This was an all-around great team win.”

Florida struggled with its shot in the first half, but came out sizzling in the second half, when the team hit 77 percent in during the first eight-plus minutes en route to taking a 51-43 lead with 11:17 on the clock.

Vanderbilt took a 24-23 halftime lead, but Deana Allen (Houma, La.) found a wide open Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) in the paint where she gave the Gators a one-point lead.

The Commodores tied the score with one free throw before the teams matched each other’s scoring for the next minute-plus.

With the score knotted at 30, Lanita Bartley, Jennifer George and Brittany Shine mounted a 5-0 Gator run and had the visitors ahead 35-30 with 16:44 on the clock.

The next three buckets of the game were three-pointers, two from Vanderbilt and the other from Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.).

Stewart and George followed with the next three points, before two more Commodore free throws cut UF’s lead to three, 41-38.

Stewart scored Florida’s first eight points of the game, as Vanderbilt countered with similar buckets and the opening minutes featured three tied scores.

Freshman Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) sank the first three-pointer of the game at the 14:06 mark and Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) followed with a inside jumper and gave the Gators a 13-8 lead.

Vanderbilt came back with a trey from Jasmine Lister, but Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) knocked one down on the other end to keep Florida’s advantage at five with a little more than 10 minutes into the contest.

Lister hit her second bucket of the game and Tiffany Clarke sank one free throw and the hosts cut the Gator lead to two.

After one free throw from Deana Allen (Houma, La.), Vanderbilt continued its run by scoring the next four points and took its first lead of the game when Clarke capped a transition with a layup at the 6:04 mark.

Jones ended the Commodores’ 7-1 run with a three-pointer and Lily Svete (Granger, Ind.) followed with another from the top of the arc and had Florida back up by five, 23-18, with 4:37 left in the opening half.

That bucket forced a Vanderbilt timeout and the Commodores responded with a 6-0 run over the final 4:24 of the period, as neither team was able to find a rhythm and Vanderbilt took a 24-23 lead into the locker room.

Stewart’s eight points to start the Gators’ scoring led UF during the opening half, when it shot a dismal 20.5 percent (8-39). The junior center also collected 10 rebounds during those first 20 minutes, as the battle on the boards was even at 25-all, with the Gators corralling 13 on the offensive end.

Holzer led Vanderbilt with eight points in the first frame, when the hosts hit 33.3 percent (9-27) of its shots and committed 10 turnovers.

Weis tops Gators coaching staff salaries at $2.6M

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Florida will pay its football assistant coaches more than $2.9 million next year, with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis pulling the biggest paycheck.

Weis, a former Notre Dame head coach who spent last season as offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, will make $765,000 in 2011-12 as part of a three-year contract that pays him more than $2.6 million. He received a $100,000 signing bonus.

Like the rest of the assistants, Weis will receive a dealer car and $10,000 for wearing Nike apparel.

Kentucky reeling as Gators visit Rupp Arena

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky is running out of time, and coach John Calipari says it's time for his players to run out of excuses.

The 22nd-ranked Wildcats (19-8, 7-6 SEC) host surging No. 13 Florida (22-5, 11-2) on Saturday reeling from another tough loss on the road.

Kentucky fell to Arkansas by a point in overtime on Wednesday, a loss that dropped the Wildcats to 1-6 away from Rupp Arena in league play. Calipari says he still likes his team but his players make too many excuses.

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He believes Kentucky's problems stem from a lack of maturity and not enough effort in key situations. Calipari pointed to Arkansas' five offensive rebounds in the final moments on Wednesday, second chances they converted into a resume-building win.

No. 13 Florida tops Georgia 71-62, clinches share of SEC East title

Chandler Parsons' gritty second-half performance and a hot shooting streak by Kenny Boynton helped Florida clinch at least a share of its first SEC Eastern Division since 2007.

The Gators rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to beat Georgia 71-62 at the O'Connell Center. The victory guaranteed No. 13 Florida (22-5, 11-2 SEC) a first-round bye in next month's conference tournament.

"For these guys to go from a team that last year and year before that were fourth or fifth, somewhere in that range, and get to a point where, worst-case scenario, they're going to share an Eastern Division championship ..." coach Billy Donovan said. "It's very, very rewarding for me as a coach. They really earned it and deserved it."

The Gators trailed 31-20 late in the first half before pulling even early in the second.

Playing his first game since suffering a deep thigh bruise Feb. 12, Parsons started slowly, but sprung to life after halftime. He scored twice in the first 90 seconds of the second half and tied the game at 35 with a three-pointer with 17:02 remaining.

Parsons missed more than a week of practice and sat out Sunday's game at LSU. He did not start against Georgia (18-9, 7-6 ), and scored a quiet four points in 11 first-half minutes, but finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists while playing 19 minutes in the second half.

"You'd have to cut off my leg for me to miss another game," said Parsons, who wore thick football padding under his shorts.

Boynton, who scored a team-high 18 points, hit three straight three-pointers to push Florida's lead from 52-51 to 61-53 with 5:42 left.

Erving Walker scored 15 points, and Alex Tyus added 12.

Florida visits No. 22 Kentucky on Saturday, then gets a chance to capture the SEC regular-season championship Tuesday against Alabama.

Boynton's Three-Point Barrage Helps No. 13 Florida Sweep Georgia, 71-62

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 13 University of Florida men’s basketball team overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to record a 71-62 victory against the Georgia Bulldogs that helped them keep pace in the Southeastern Conference title chase with the West-leading Alabama Crimson Tide.  Florida (22-5, 11-2 SEC) swept Georgia for the first time since 2008 and extended their winning streak versus the Bulldogs in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center to nine. As a result, the Gators clinched the top seed in the SEC East and are deadlocked in the overall SEC standings with Alabama heading into the final three games of conference play.

The game was closely contested at the start, with Georgia making a high percentage of their attempts while hot shooting from junior point guard Erving Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) kept the Gators close. Walker scored eight of Florida’s first 10 points to keep the Orange and Blue within two at the under-16 media timeout.

Georgia quickly went on a 9-2 run to build a 21-12 advantage and after a three-point play the old-fashioned way by UGA’s Travis Leslie, the Bulldogs led 31-20 with 3:23 left in the opening stanza. Florida responded with a steal by senior forward Alex Tyus (St. Louis, Mo.) that turned into a Scottie Wilbekin (Gainesville, Fla.) lay-up and after a defensive stop on the ensuing possession, got two more points on a Chandler Parsons (Casselberry, Fla.) drive to the basket, closing the gap to 31-24. After Georgia’s Gerald Robinson made a lay-up, Tyus gave the home team a lift, grabbing a misfire from Parsons and finishing at the rim as time expired to send the Gators into the locker room down 33-26.

Florida carried its momentum into the second half, buoyed by Parsons who had a breakaway dunk, a stick-back after swooping in for an offensive rebound and a triple in the first 2:58 of the second half and the three drew the Gators even at 35 for the first time since the 13:57 mark of the first half.

A Robinson three put Georgia on top by three and they remained in front until Florida’s upperclassmen led the charge during an 8-0 surge that gave the Gators a 47-42 edge with 12:04 to play. Senior center Vernon Macklin (Portsmouth, Va.) finished a lay-up despite contact, and converted the free throw to knot the game at 42. After a Trey Thompkins turnover on an in-bounds pass, Walker slashed to the basket and made a lay-up forcing Georgia into a timeout. Following another Bulldog turnover, Parsons buried a trifecta as the Gators took their largest lead of the game to that point.

Florida led by as many as six until a three-point play by UGA’s Jeremy Price and two Leslie free throws brought  the Bulldogs within 52-51 with 7:30 remaining.

From there, sophomore guard Kenny Boynton (Pompano Beach, Fla.) took over. He knocked down a three off a feed from Wilbekin and after a Thompkins lay-up, connected on another three eight seconds later to extend the lead to 58-53. After the Gator defense created another a turnover, Boynton sank yet another three. On the ensuing possession, he collected a rebound and drove coast-to-coast before dropping a pass off to Tyus who converted a lay-up to give Florida a 63-53 cushion with 5:10 on the clock.

It took the Bulldogs just 1:32 to trim the Gator lead to four with Leslie and Thompkins combining for six quick points during that span before Parsons stemmed the tide with a driving lay-up. The Gators salted the game away at the free throw line, making 6-of-9 in the last 1:39 to pick up a crucial victory.

Four Gators reached double figures in scoring, topped by Boynton with 18 points—his sixth straight game in double figures. Parsons, in his return from a thigh injury that kept him out of Florida’s previous contest at LSU, added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Walker and Tyus contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively.

After allowing Georgia to shoot 15-of-25 (60.0 percent) in the first half, the defense clamped down, holding the Bulldogs to 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) in the second half. Florida also helped its cause by only committing a season-low five turnovers and making more free throws (14) than Georgia attempted (10).

Leslie led Georgia with 20 points while teammate Thompkins was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 16.

Florida travels to Rupp Arena to take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast to a national audience on CBS.

No. 4/5 Gator Softball Wins Nine-Inning Thriller, 6-5, Over No. 11/12 Texas

With two outs and the scored knotted at five in the bottom of the ninth, junior Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) hit a single to center field for the Gators’ game-winning RBI against No. 11/12 Texas Thursday.  The International Tie Breaker rule in effect, sophomore Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) occupied second base to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt by senior Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs, Fla.), followed by a Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) strikeout brought up Moultrie in the two-out situation and the junior delivered, as the Gators improved to 11-0 on the season with the 6-5 victory over the Longhorns in Palm Springs.

Freshman righty Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) tallied her second win Thursday, improving to 5-0 for UF this season. Rogers struck out both batters she faced and was the pitcher of record when the Gators went ahead and maintained for the victory. Senior Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) threw 8.1 innings, walked just four, struck out seven and allowed her first runs of the season as UT put up five across home plate.

Texas wasted no time getting on the board at the top of the second with a two-run homer by Shelby Savony, which would be the only two runs for either squad through the first five innings of play. A three-run spark for the Gators at the bottom of the sixth looked to be promising as sophomore Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) dropped a two-run bomb over the right-field fence to compliment a Moultrie score following a fielder’s choice on senior Kelsey Bruder’s (Corona, Calif.) at bat.

Florida, with a 3-2 lead entering the seventh, was forced to play catch-up after Texas took a one-run lead at the top of the inning following a run scored by Torie Schmid and a solo homer by Taylor Hoagland to take Texas up, 4-3. The Gators battled, keeping the game interesting with a leadoff single by sophomore Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) and two consecutive sacrifice bunts that allowed the Orange and Blue to tie the game at four-all on a Moultrie triple to center field that brought pinch runner Ellie Langley (Spring Hill, Fla.), forcing extra innings.

The Longhorns and Gators traded runs in the eighth inning, with UT’s Lexy Bennet scoring after a sacrifice bunt and then a sac fly, while Florida brought ITB-placed runner, senior Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) home on a Bruder single up the middle.

Florida held UT scoreless in the ninth as Rogers relieved Brombacher after the ace tallied the first out. Rogers then struck out Hoagland and Brejae Washington to turn the bottom of the ninth over for the Gators to finish.

Moultrie finished the day 2-for-3 and two RBI with two walks.

Blaire Luna (6-1) took the loss for the Longhorns after 8.2 innings of work, 14 strikeouts, eight hits and four walks.

Earlier Thursday, fourth-ranked Florida chalked up its fourth all-time win over Indiana after defeating the Hoosiers 7-0 Thursday morning in Palm Springs. Florida used a two-run third inning, a four-run rally with two outs in the sixth inning and a Schutte score off a Samantha Holle (Tampa, Fla.) double  in the seventh to down IU in its opening game at the Cathedral City Classic..

Rogers tallied the win for the Gators against the Hoosiers, improving to 4-0 on the season through the morning session. Rogers retired seven batters by strikeout and walked just three, giving up just two hits in seven innings of work.

Indiana’s Morgan Melloh (4-6) tallied the loss for the Hoosiers, allowing seven runs on seven hits and walking nine, but striking out 14 Gator batters.

Florida struck first at the top of the third inning on a Bruder sacrifice fly, which brought home Holle, who reached after drawing the walk from Melloh. Up next, senior Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) singled and reached second on the throw, advancing Moultrie to third and scoring Fagan, who reached base with a single to right center, to take the Orange and Blue ahead early, 2-0.

The Gators, who have drawn 56 walks so far this season, stayed true to form in the top of the sixth. Following a Bush double to right center and a Schutte strikeout, Florida drew three walks from freshman Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.), DeFelice and Fagan. With Fagan’s walk, junior Ellie Langley (Spring Hill, Fla.) scored as a pinch runner for Bush, still leaving bases loaded with two outs for Paculba, who also walked to score Coyle. A Moultrie blooper to left center resulted in two RBI, Fagan and pinch runner Ashley Snedeker (Bloomington, Minn.) for DeFelice to give UF a 6-0 lead.

Florida added the final run in the seventh with two outs thanks to a Holle double to left field, which brought in Schutte, who reached on a single of her own.