The
No. 2/4 Gators powered their way to two dominating run-rule shutout victories
Saturday evening at the USF Softball Stadium, downing Maine, 8-0, and Illinois
State, 11-0, to improve to 3-0 in 2012. Florida used five doubles, two triples
and four homers to add their second and third shutout victories – all of which
were five innings – after opening the season with an 8-0 win over Long Island
earlier in the day.
Through
its first three games this season, Florida has outscored its opponents, 27-0,
smashed four long balls, including a Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, Calif.)
grand slam, racked up 25 RBI and tallied a .455 batting average, led by
freshman Sami Fagan’s (Dunnellon, Fla.) .889 clip after going 8-for-9 at
the plate through Saturday’s three games.
Sophomore
righty Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) chalked up her second victory of
the season with a three-hit, nine-strikeout effort after going the full 5.0 against
Illinois State in the second of UF’s two clashes Saturday evening.
It
was a phenomenal day for freshman Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz), who
earned her first start, and victory, in the circle for the Orange and Blue
against Maine in the earlier game, fanning 11 of the 19 batters she faced,
while giving up just three hits and walking one. In game two, Haeger showed her
versatility at the plate, smashing an absolute three-run bomb over the
center-field fence against the Redbirds for her first career homer as a Gator,
giving Florida the minimum eight runs for a run rule in the bottom of the
second. The Gators went on to make it an 11-run differential.
Before
defeating Illinois State in the nightcap, Florida strung together an incredible
one-out feat against Maine in the third inning following two scoreless frames
for both squads, putting up a five spot after two-consecutive triples from
senior Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Sami Fagan, followed
by two-consecutive doubles from Haeger and junior Brittany Schutte (Fountain
Valley, Calif.) before Coyle finished off the rally with UF’s first home run of
the season, a two-run shot to center field. The Gators added three more runs in
the fifth, thanks to another Schutte double and a junior Kelsey Horton (Valrico,
Fla.) homer that brought both home to seal the win.
Coyle
struck with her inaugural grand slam in a Gator uniform to get the Gators on
the board quick in the bottom of the first against Illinois State after
Moultrie and Sami Fagan base hits, followed by an eventual Schutte walk that loaded
the bags. A Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, Fla.) RBI double added a fifth run
in the first for Florida, while three runs each in the second inning – thanks to
Haeger’s three-run homer – and fourth inning solidified UF’s third victory of
2012.
Between
the Gators’ two games Saturday, Sami Fagan was a perfect 6-for-6 at the plate
with five runs, a triple and one RBI, while Schutte batted .750 thanks to a
3-for-4 effort with two doubles and three RBI. Coyle and Moultrie both checked
in with a .600 batting clip, each going 3-for-5, Coyle with two runs from her
two homers and seven RBI, while Moultrie registered four runs and a triple on
the evening.
UF
continued to have stellar play from its freshmen, with four first-years in the
infield at the same time in the second inning against the Redbirds with Haeger
at first, Damico at second, Fagan at third and Medina at shortstop. The quartet
had an impressive third inning, assisting in a three up, three down effort with
an athletic snag from Medina at shortstop for the second out and a leaping
effort from Damico at second for the final out.
