The No. 14/15 Gator softball team set out on
a mission Friday, downing Creighton 13-3 in five innings and upsetting No. 5/6
Oregon 1-0 to start play in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe 2-0.
A total team effort on offense and sharp
defense paved the way for a successful opening day for Florida, as five Gator freshmen
saw their first game action donning the Orange and Blue and all made an instant
impact starting with the first hit of the day against Creighton, a leadoff
triple from freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.). Stewart led the
Gators Friday at the plate with a staggering. 667 batting clip (4-for-6), a
triple, homer, walk, three runs and three RBI in the showdown with Creighton
and 2-for-3 performance against the Ducks in the nightcap with a double and two
stolen bases.
Squaring off with Creighton at ASU’s
Farrington Stadium in the first game of the doubleheader Friday afternoon,
Florida used nine hits from seven different players, three home runs and a
stellar pitching performance from sophomore Arizona native Lauren Haeger (Peoria,
Ariz.) to top Creighton in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Both
Stewart and freshman Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) were
2-for-3, each with a homer as Merritt smashed Florida’s first grand slam of the
season to contribute to a five-RBI performance against the Jays.
The Gators scattered one run each in the
first and third innings before breaking it open in the fourth and fifth with
three and eight runs, respectively, for Florida’s first run-rule of the season.
Haeger earned her first victory of the season
working 4.0 innings with eight strikeouts and one earned run, yielding just
three CU hits, while sophomore righty Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) came
on to finish the Jays off in the bottom of the fifth. Bache fanned three
Creighton batters and gave up one hit and one earned run in her first appearance
of 2013.
Florida held Creighton (1-2) to just four
hits and pitcher Becca Changstrom (1-1) shouldered the loss for the Jays
despite retiring eight Gators by strikeout through 4.1 innings.
Senior outfielder Kelsey Horton (Valrico,
Fla.), UF’s second-leading home-run hitter last season, dropped her first bomb
of the season against Creighton, while classmate Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield,
Calif.) connected for a two RBI double in the match-up.
Gammel then struck again with a key role in
UF’s win over Oregon, plating the game-winning RBI with a bases-loaded
groundout.
After switching locations from Farrington
Stadium to the Tempe Sports Complex for the tilt with No. 5/6 Oregon, the
Gators went to work in a tight match-up with the Ducks, the first meeting
between the two programs since 2011 Super Regionals. A classic pitcher’s duel,
Florida junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales, Fla.) tossed a five-hit
shutout for the victory opposite Oregon’s Jessica Moore, who held the Orange
and Blue to just three hits on the night. Rogers and Moore combined for 13
strikeouts, Rogers with eight and Moore with five.
Oregon’s Koral Costa struck with the first
hit for either squad in the second frame, but with two outs and runners on
first and second after a UF defensive miscue, Rogers fanned Jamie Sullivan to
avoid a threat.
The Gators then got a little something going
in the third after freshman catcher Aubree Munro (Brea, Calif.) drew a
one-out walk, followed by a Stewart base hit, UF’s first of the game, but
Oregon’s defense caught Munro stealing and Moore forced a Merritt groundout to
retire the side.
A persistent and aggressive Gator offense got
it done in the fourth after Horton’s patience at the plate paid off with a
leadoff walk. Freshman Taylore Fuller (Trenton, Fla.) capitalized on an
Oregon error to put runners on first and second for the Gators with no outs.
Next up, sophomore Bailey Castro (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) reached on a fielder’s
choice, eliminating Horton at third, while a Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln,
Calif.) walk juiced the bags for UF with just one out.
Pinch hitting for freshman first baseman Taylor
Schwarz (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Gammel put a one-out ball into play that
Oregon third baseman Jamie Sullivan opted to toss to first for the out as
Fuller scampered across home for the lone run of the contest.
Stewart doubled for Florida in the fifth and
Tofft connected for a base hit in the sixth for UF’s second and third hits of
the evening. Costa led Oregon with a 2-for-3 performance and Moore moved to 1-1
on the season the circle as the Gators served the Ducks (2-1) their first loss
of the year.
Tofft batted .400 (2-for-5) on opening day
for UF, while Merritt and Gammel both checked in at .333.
