LEXINGTON, Ky. – Florida softball freshman
centerfielder Kirsti Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) went a career
tying 3-for-4 with five RBI to help lead the top-seeded Gator softball squad to
an 8-4 victory over Alabama Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2013 SEC
Tournament at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington.
Florida became the first team in the country
to 50 wins, as the Gators are now 50-7 overall on the year, marking the program’s
fifth 50-win season in school history. UF advances to the conference tournament
semifinals and will face Georgia for a fourth time this season, as the Bulldogs
just defeated LSU, 7-0, in the second game of the day.
FLORIDA | GEORGIA SERIES HISTORY
Florida leads, 32-22
Gators
at HOME:
15-13 | AWAY: 15-7 | Neutral: 2-2
·
Last
meeting: April 26-28 (Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.)
·
Game One: Georgia 3, Florida 2 | Game Two: Florida 5, Georgia 2 | Game Three: Florida 5, Georgia 0
First pitch for both SEC
Tournament Semifinal games have been altered due to the potential for inclement
weather in Lexington. Florida and Georgia will square off at 1 p.m. (ET), while
the winners of Missouri/Arkansas and Tennessee/South Carolina will take to the
field at 3:30 p.m. (ET).
UF’s semifinal contest will air live on
ESPNU, as ESPN’s softball crew of Beth Mowins, Holly Rowe, Michele Smith,
Jessica Mendoza and Cara Capuano will handle coverage through the duration of
the tournament.
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
week, stay posted to UF’s schedule
page on
GatorZone.com.
With a tie game heading into the bottom of
the sixth after the Gators and Crimson Tide each put up four runs – Florida with
a run in the first and three in the fourth and Alabama a four-run fifth inning
– Merritt drilled her fifth homer of the season off the left-field foul pole
for the eventual game-winner, her sixth of the season.
In addition to Merritt’s stellar day,
freshman leadoff and second baseman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) took
sole possession of UF’s single-season stolen bases record, swiping second in
the fourth inning after a RBI infield single. Stewart was 2-for-4 on the day
with one RBI to aid UF’s winning efforts.
Sophomore Briana Little (Middleburg,
Fla.) drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first to start things off
for the Gators with a 1-0 lead early. With one down, Merritt reached on a Bama
fielding error before junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.) reached
on an infield single smoked to third base. Sophomore Lauren Haeger (Peoria,
Ariz.) drew her team-leading 38th walk of the season to juice the bags for
Little’s RBI walk.
The Orange and Blue then put up a three-spot
in the bottom of the fourth to increase the Florida lead, 4-0, started by a Stewart
RBI liner to third base before Merritt connected with her second hit of the
day, a two-RBI single up the middle for the four-run Gator advantage.
Alabama then responded in the top of the
fifth with four runs, first loading the bases with four straight hits to start
the inning, the fourth of which plated the Tide’s first run of the afternoon. A
ground out plated a second run for Alabama in the top of the inning and the
Tide added two more on a wild pitch and Molly Fichtner RBI single for a tie
ballgame after five.
Merritt continued a career-best day with a
game-winning three-run blast in the bottom of the sixth, as the Gators put up a
four spot to go ahead for good. Sophomore Bailey Castro (Pembroke Pines,
Fla.) drew a leadoff walk, before a Stewart bunt single and error put runners
on second and third with no outs for Merritt’s game-winning heroics, as the
first-year Freshman All-SEC pick went yard to knock in her third, fourth and
fifth RBI of the day.
UF added an insurance run on a Little foul
out that allowed an eighth Gator run to score.
Junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales,
Fla.) (5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) earned the start for the Gators in the
circle and tossed the first five innings before Haeger came on with the game
tied 4-4 to pick up the win. Haeger (2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K) improved to 14-2,
her fourth win over a top-25 opponent this season.
Florida is now 20-23 (.465) all-time in the
SEC Tournament and advanced to the SEC Tournament Championship last season for
the fifth time in program history. The Orange and Blue have played in the SEC
Championship Game five times (1997, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012).
The Gators are 12-4 (.750) 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 junior ace Hannah Rogers’ (Lake Wales, Fla.) nine. Florida is 10-3 versus 1-25 RPI
opponents, 13-3 against opponents ranked 26-50 in the RPI rankings and 16-1
against teams 50-100 in the most recent RPI standings.
