Five extra-base hits, including two blasts
from freshman Taylor Schwarz (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), helped lead the
Florida (51-7) softball squad to a SEC Tournament Semifinals victory over Eastern
Division rival Georgia, 9-5, advancing the Gators to the SEC Tourney Championship
Game Saturday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Florida will make its sixth SEC Championship
Game appearance, second consecutive after facing Alabama in the 2012 league
finale. Florida will face the winner of Tennessee/Missouri, currently being
played at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington. UF took two of three from Tennessee
in Gainesville, all three games going eight innings, while the Orange and Blue
played the longest game in Florida history against Missouri in a non-conference
clash at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. The Tigers
came out on top, 4-3, following the 12-inning thriller.
UF has twice won the SEC Tournament: 2008 and
2009, having played in the conference tournament title game in 1997, 2007 and
2012 as well. Florida is now 21-23 (.875) all-time in the SEC Tournament. The
Gators are 13-4 (.764) against top-25 opponents, tops in the SEC, own 17
come-from-behind wins – seven in SEC play – and are 5-2 (.714) in extra-inning
games in 2013. Florida owns 18 shutouts, paced by Rogers’ nine.
Schwarz went yard in both the first and third
innings and Florida put up 12 hits, its most against a SEC opponent, as the
Gators reached double-digit hits for the fifth time against a SEC opponent this
season. Junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.) was a perfect
3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Schwarz checked in 2-for-4 with
three RBI and two runs scored. Freshman Kirsti Merritt (Lake
Panasoffkee, Fla.) additionally reached base in her 16th straight game for the
Gators.
Junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales,
Fla.) (7.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7K) picked up the win in the circle, tossing a
no-hitter through four innings to improve to 29-5 for the Gators.
Two two-run jacks highlighted the first
inning against the Bulldogs Saturday in the SEC Tournament Semifinals, as sophomore
designated player Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) blasted a two-out bomb
to left field for the 2-0 lead, her 17th of the season, before Schwarz followed
with a two-run dinger of her own to straight-away center.
Tofft started things off, using her speed to beat
a two-out infield single bounced to the UGA second baseman to set up Haeger’s
success, while senior Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) was hit by a pitch
before Schwarz went yard with her eighth long ball of the season, chasing UGA
starter Geri Ann Glasco (0.2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) from the circle.
Tofft struck again in the second for the
Orange and Blue, again with two outs, sending a two-run single up the middle to
pour it on and extend the Gators’ lead, 6-0.
A solo bomb from Schwarz, this time to left
field, and a RBI triple from freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) –
her staggering eighth of the season, plated UF’s seventh and eighth runs of the
game against Georgia.
After Rogers forced three up, three down in
the top of the fourth, Horton connected for a RBI single to plate UF’s ninth
run of the game to bring Tofft home after the Gators’ third baseman connected
for her third hit of the day, moved to second on the play and took third on a
UGA passed ball before Horton sent her home for the 9-0 Gators advantage.
Tess Sito led off the fifth for the Bulldogs,
Georgia’s first hit of the day, to break up Rogers’ no-hitter through four, and
Georgia found its way on the scoreboard after a RBI groundout and Paige Wilson
two-out, two-run double down the right-field line that narrowed UF’s lead, 9-3.
Sophomore Jess Damico (Gray Summit,
Mo.) led off the bottom of the sixth with a double – her fourth two-bagger of
the season – but relief pitcher Morgan Montemayor (5.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5
K) retired the side with a pop up, ground out and strikeout.
The Bulldogs didn’t back down, as Wilson came
through with a two-run single to narrow the Gators lead to 9-5 in the top of
the seventh, but Rogers fanned Glasco and forced Kaylee Puailoa to ground out
to end the game.
In addition to ESPN coverage, Gator fans can
also keep track of all Florida’s games live locally and online on the radio at
105 The Game, with Adam Schick and Megan Bush on the call. For all broadcast
information throughout the postseason, stay posted to UF’s schedule
page on
GatorZone.com.
Florida, the first team in the country to 50
wins, chalked up the program’s fifth 50-win season in history with its 8-4 SEC
quarterfinals victory over Alabama Thursday.
