Freshman Taylore Fuller (Trenton,
Fla.) ripped a two-RBI double to deep left center in the top of the sixth to
plate the game-winning runs for the Gator softball squad in an 8-4 victory over
No. 1 Alabama Wednesday at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. No. 4 Florida improved
to 23-1 overall on the season and 4-1 against top-25 opponents this year with the
win. Alabama shouldered its first loss of 2013 to move to 22-1.
Fuller’s clutch hit put Florida ahead, 5-4,
after the sixth and UF added three more runs for insurance in the top of the
seventh to close out Wednesday’s back-and-forth battle with the Crimson Tide in
the unique non-conference match-up. Florida used 10 hits on the evening,
including nine in the sixth and seventh combined, to top defending national
champion Alabama. The Gators were led by sophomore Lauren Haeger’s (Peoria,
Ariz.) 2-for-3 performance at the plate Wednesday. Sophomore Briana Little (Middleburg,
Fla.), senior Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) and junior Stephanie
Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.) all went 2-for-4 in the four, five and six holes
for the Orange and Blue.
Junior Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales,
Fla.) (11-1) tossed her 11th victory of the season after working the first five
innings. Rogers fanned five, gave up just two earned runs on six hits before Haeger
came on for Florida’s first save of the season, putting together two innings of
hitless, scoreless relief – including four strikeouts.
After scoring just one run through the first
four innings, the Gators used a one-run fifth inning and two huge three-run
innings – and nine more hits – in the sixth and seventh to top the Crimson
Tide.
Florida went to work quickly, as freshman Kelsey
Stewart drew a leadoff walk to start the game and swiped second before sophomore
Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) connected for an infield RBI single to
plate UF’s first run of the contest in the top of the first.
In the back and forth battle, Alabama
countered with a two-run third stanza after a scoreless second for both teams.
The Tide capitalized on a UF wild pitch and used a Molly Fichtner bases-loaded
walk to tie the contest, then go ahead of Florida, 2-1.
UF struck next in the top of the fifth after
freshman Taylor Schwarz (Palm Beach, Fla.) drew a leadoff walk to start
things off for the Orange and Blue. Following two straight outs for AU’s Jackie
Traina in the circle, including a sac bunt and groundout, Stewart walked at the
top of the lineup for runners on the corners for the Gators. An errant throw
down to second on a Stewart stolen base allowed Schwarz to score from third,
while Stewart took third on the play with the game knotted at 2-2.
Bama countered yet again in the bottom of the
fifth to take a 4-2 lead after a two-run, three-hit stanza. A Kaila Hunt RBI
double and a Danae Hays RBI single up the middle drove in the Tide’s two runs
in the fifth frame before the Gators posted a three-run sixth inning to go
ahead for good.
Three straight one-out hits for UF in the top
of the sixth from Little, Horton and Tofft loaded the bags before a pop up for
Schwarz put the second out on the board. With sophomore Bailey Castro (Pembroke
Pines, Fla.) at the plate, Little scampered home from third on a Traina wild
pitch to make it a 4-3 ballgame, while Horton and Tofft moved to second and
third on the play. Castro then walked to juice the bags again for Fuller’s
first-pitch RBI-double that gave the Gators a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
Florida added three extra insurance runs in
the top of the seventh, one courtesy of a speedy Stewart that took second,
third and home after an Alabama error on a sac bunt. Horton connected for a RBI
double and Tofft added her second hit of the night to push UF’s eighth run
across the dish.
Haeger closed it out in the bottom of the
seventh with two strikeouts and a fly out to retire the Crimson Tide.
The Orange and Blue will now head to Auburn,
Ala., to open 2013 Southeastern Conference play against the Auburn Tigers March
8-10 at Jane B. Moore Field. The Gators and Tigers will tilt at 7 p.m. (ET)
Friday and 2 p.m. (ET) on both Saturday and Sunday in Auburn. Florida is 23-9
all-time on SEC opening day and 10-4 under head coach Tim Walton in league
openers.
