No. 5 Florida completed the series sweep over South Carolina Sunday with a 6-1 victory, highlighted by three homers, including junior Michelle Moultrie’s (Jacksonville, Fla.) long ball, which marked her 19th straight game with at least one hit. Moultrie’s hit streak is a career-long and the second-longest behind senior Megan Bush’s (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) Florida-record 20-game strand earlier this season. Sophomore Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) and freshman Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.) also dropped bombs Sunday, bringing Florida’s season total to 100. Schutte knocked a double in addition to her round-tripper, leading the Gators, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run and a walk.
Freshman righty Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) worked a complete game, earning the victory, her 27th win of the season for the Orange and Blue (43-8, 18-7 SEC), giving up just one earned run on eight hits, while fanning three. After seeing three South Carolina (25-27, 6-19 SEC) pitchers Saturday, Florida forced the same Sunday after hitting up starter Audrey Broyles for two hits, three earned runs and two walks in the first 2.0, while working April Borchardt for an inning, connecting on one hit and an unearned run, while drawing one walk. Julie Sarratt finished the final 4.0, allowing four Gator hits and two runs. Broyles was charged with the loss.
For the second consecutive day, Schutte connected on a bomb to left center, this time a round-tripper in the top of the first that put the Gators up, 2-0. Schutte, who will attend the USA Softball Women’s National Team Selection Camp this summer, drove in senior Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.), who drew the walk.
After a scoreless second for both squads and the top of the Gator lineup up in the third, junior Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) smacked just her second homer of the season, eighth of her career, over the right-field fence, chasing Broyles from the circle with no outs, in favor of Borchardt. The change didn’t halt the Gators’ potent offense, as Bruder connected for a double down the right-field line. Following a Bush lineout to the pitcher for the first out of the inning, the Gamecocks opted to intentionally walk Schutte to place runners on first and second, Schutte’s second IBB of the season. Following a Gator strikeout, Bruder scored UF’s fourth run of the game after an overthrow by the Gamecocks’ shortstop on senior Tiffany DeFelice’s (Coral Springs, Fla.) at-bat and a freshman Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.) strikeout ended the third-stanza scoring, with UF up, 4-0.
The Gamecocks put their first run on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Hannah Milks base hit with runners on first and third to drive in a score, narrowing the margin, 4-1.
Following a scoreless fifth, DeFelice dropped a blooper to shallow center field, bringing in pinch runner Ellie Langley (Spring Hill, Fla.) to run and bringing Coyle to the plate. The freshman connected for her 12th long ball of the season to plate Langley and herself as UF went up, 6-1. Next, sophomore Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) entered to pinch hit for sophomore Samantha Holle (Tampa, Fla.), driving a single up the middle. Sophomore Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) entered to run for Horton at first and proceeded to swipe second after a Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) strikeout. A Moultrie strikeout and Bruder fly out ended the inning and three up, three down for the Gators in the seventh concluded UF’s scoring for the afternoon.
Rogers and the Florida defense rallied for a scoreless bottom half of the seventh, allowing just one Gamecock hit for the final margin, 6-1.
