After their 22-0 rout of North Florida Wednesday night, it’s hard to believe the Gators offense had any records left to break.
But sure enough they found a way, pounding out an all-time best 21 hits in their second 20-run win of the week.
Thanks to their dominant offense and the team’s continued success in the circle, the No. 6 Gators (41-7, 19-4 Southeastern Conference) were able to earn a decisive doubleheader sweep over South Carolina (11-39, 1-26 SEC) Saturday in Gainesville.
The Gators found themselves battling not only South Carolina but also the oppressive heat, although the day’s challenges never showed up on the scoreboard.
“I was trying everything I could to get our players off the field in the first game because it was so hot,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “We swung the bat well, I thought we did a good job of that, and the pitchers both did a good job but it was challenging for everybody, even the fans.”
As was the case in the first game of Wednesday night’s doubleheader, Stephanie Brombacher and Erin Schuppert combined to no-hit the Gamecocks as UF picked up the 20-0 victory in Game 1.
A season-best 11 different Gators had hits in the blowout with Michelle Moultrie, Corrie Brooks, Megan Bush and Tiffany DeFelice leading the way with three each.
For DeFelice, Saturday was just the next installment of the torrid hot-streak she’s been on since re-entering the lineup after missing fourteen games due to injury.
The junior has reached base in each of her six games back, and is 8 for 14 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in that span.
“I think that’s just frustration from being out for three weeks,” DeFelice said. “I’m just trying to catch up I guess.”
Game 1 also featured another stellar performance from senior Francesca Enea, who led the team with 5 RBIs. Three of those came on her 60th career home run, which moves her into a tie with Kelly Kretschman of Alabama for the SEC career record.
It only took seven batters for the Gators to put up seven runs in the opener, as Enea homered home Paculba and Moultrie before DeFelice brought Bush, Brittany Schutte, and Kelsey Bruder home with her first-career grand slam.
The Gators were not able to get off to nearly as fast of a start in the nightcap, and were even trailing South Carolina by a run after four innings of play.
But the Florida bats quickly found their stride once again, bringing home three in the fifth on an error and a sacrifice fly before adding three more in the sixth thanks to a double steal and RBI singles from Bruder and Brooks.
Freshman Ensley Gammel picked up the 6-1 win in the circle, giving up only a single run on five hits while striking out seven in her complete-game performance.
