OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Tennessee softball
squad used three runs in the first, four in the fourth and a two-run seventh
inning to take the 2013 Women’s College World Series opener between the Gators
(57-8) and Lady Vols (50-10), 9-2, in front of a crowd of 7,911 at Oklahoma
City’s ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Florida narrowed Tennessee’s early 3-0 lead
to 3-2 with a two-run fifth frame, but UT added six more unanswered runs to
pull out the opening-round win.
In the double-elimination WCWS format, the
Gators will next match up with 14th-seeded Nebraska (45-15) Saturday at noon
(ET) on ESPN2 as the Huskers fell to Washington 4-3 in eight innings in the
opening game of the 2013 WCWS Thursday morning when Kimberlee Souza knocked a
walk-off homer for the Huskies in the bottom of the eighth. The Gators and
Huskers have met just twice in program history, with the series record tied
1-1. Florida and Nebraska last met March 11, 2011 in Clearwater, Fla., as a
part of the USF Under Armour Showcase. The Huskers edged Florida, 1-0, in the
clash.
Florida junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake
Wales, Fla.) (0.1 IP 1 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 0 K) faced Tennessee hurler Ellen Renfroe
(7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 9 K) in the circle as both earned the starts, while
Gator sophomore pitchers Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.) (6.1 IP, 10 H, 4
ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1
BB, 0 K) both saw action, Haeger tossing a bulk of the innings in relief, as
Rogers (33-6) took the loss, E. Renfroe (18-4) the victory.
A bases-loaded walk and a two-run double from
Tennessee’s Melissa Brown gave the Lady Vols a 3-0 edge in the top of the first
and Florida went to work in the bottom of the inning. Freshman Kirsti
Merritt (Lake Panasoffkee, Fla.) drew a one-out walk and Haeger reached
after a Tennessee fielding error for runners on first and second, but the
Gators couldn’t push a run across.
In the bottom of the second, freshman Taylore
Fuller (Trenton, Fla.) drilled her first WCWS base hit down the left-field
line for the Gators’ first hit of the afternoon – a ball that ricocheted off
the third-base umpire, but UF didn’t capitalize until the bottom of the fifth
after three scoreless innings for both squads in the second, third and fourth
frames.
After a leadoff walk from sophomore Jess
Damico (Gray Summit, Mo.) in the fifth, followed by a stolen base, freshman
Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) ripped her nation-leading 10th triple of
the season to the left-center gap, plating Damico and narrowing the Lady Vols’
lead, 3-1. With two down, junior Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.)
struck next by ripping a single to shallow center to score Stewart.
The Orange and Blue juiced the bags after a
Haeger hit-by-pitch and senior Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) walk, but a
fielder’s choice for freshman first baseman Taylor Schwarz (Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla.) ended the Gators’ fifth-inning threat.
Tennessee added four runs in the top of the
sixth, taking advantage of two uncharacteristic Florida defensive errors,
followed by a Kat Dotson two-RBI double to the right-field line and a Lauren
Gibson RBI double down the left-field line for the 7-2 Lady Vols advantage
following the top of the sixth.
Florida left two on in the bottom of the
sixth after a leadoff walk from Fuller and a Stewart infield single before UT
added two runs in the top of the seventh in form of a Haeger wild pitch,
followed by a Dotson RBI triple to deep center for the 9-2 advantage.
Three straight groundouts in the bottom of
the seventh preserved Tennessee’s lead as the Lady Vols took their second of
four games between the two teams so far this season Thursday.
Florida is now 11-10 (.523) all-time in the
WCWS. The Orange and Blue own a 48-30 (.615) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament,
including a 43-20 (.683) record under eighth year head coach Tim Walton. Tennessee’s
nine runs were the most given up by the Gators this season and the most against
the Lady Vols since May 13, 1999 (11).
