Florida freshman first baseman Taylor
Schwarz (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) roped a two-out RBI double off the wall
in left center in the top of the fourth, and that’s the only run the No. 2
Gator softball squad would need in a 1-0 victory Sunday over UAB in the
Gainesville Super Regional to punch a ticket to Oklahoma City for the fifth
time in program history (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013).
In a stellar defensive game for the Gators
behind junior ace Hannah Rogers’ (Lake Wales, Fla.) performance in the
circle, freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.) showed her range and
defensive skills at second on a UAB ball hit up the middle that had Blazer senior
pinch runner Hailey Glynn – representing the game-tying run – scampering home
from second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Stewart laid out,
snagged the ball in the dirt by second base, composed herself and controlled
the ball enough to gun home from her knees to freshman catcher Aubree Munro (Brea,
Calif.) at the plate for the third and final out in dramatic fashion.
A crowd of 1,679 came out to Katie Seashole
Pressly Stadium Sunday to watch the Gators solidify their spot in Oklahoma
City, as the Orange and Blue (57-7) are WCWS bound for the fifth time in the
last six years. UF last appeared in OKC in 2011, as the Gators played for a
national championship that year. Florida defeated the UAB Blazers (40-19), 4-3,
in walk-off fashion Saturday before holding onto a 1-0 differential through
three innings Sunday for the sweep.
The Gators will meet
familiar league foe Tennessee Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 in WCWS
opening-round action at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The Gators and Lady
Vols have never met in the NCAA Tournament, but have met nine times in the SEC
Tournament for a 5-4 all-time record in postseason play against UT, including
4-1 under head coach Tim Walton. Florida edged out Tennessee for the SEC
regular-season title in 2013, while also taking two-of-three from the Lady Vols
in Gainesville during the regular-season set. The last four meetings between
Florida and Tennessee have all gone eight innings. Florida leads the all-time
history of the series, 43-20, including a 4-3 record on neutral ground. Under
Walton, UF is 21-7 against the Lady Vols.
Rogers tossed a gem Sunday (7.0 IP, 4 H, 0
ER, 2 BB, 7K), her 11th shutout of the year, to improve to 33-5 in the circle
for the Orange and Blue with her 97th career victory. Her seven Ks tied for
second-most in NCAA Tournament play, as she’s previously fanned nine batters
twice, once each in 2011 and 2012 Regionals play. Rogers struck out the side in
the bottom of the first, retiring five of the first batters she faced via
strikeout. The two-time All-American righty also sat the side down in the fifth
after the Gators grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth as the designated
visitors Sunday.
Florida used base hits from birthday girl and
starting freshman catcher Taylore Fuller (Trenton, Fla.), sophomore
designated player Lauren Haeger (Peoria, Ariz.), Schwarz and junior
third baseman Stephanie Tofft (Lincoln, Calif.), as Fuller and Tofft led
off the third and sixth innings with base hits for the Orange and Blue, Tofft
her league-leading 18th double and second two-bagger of the game for UF.
The Gators faced a tough Blazers squad,
including pitching duo Lauren Webster (4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K), who
earned the decision and moved to 12-5 on the season, and Lannah Campbell in
relief (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K).
Florida posted its 20th shutout of the season
Sunday after chalking up its 21st come-from-behind victory in Saturday’s Super
Regional Opener.
