Even with bandages covering her chin and elbow, freshman Kasey
Fagan was all smiles after the No. 5 Florida softball team (8-0)
swept Saturday’s doubleheader against No. 20 North Carolina
(4-3).
The Gators’ third baseman had a shaky start, committing an error on
a ground ball to her left in the second inning of the first game.
Later, she got roughed up sliding into second base, but the
freshman showed her toughness by staying in the game and proved to
be an all-around threat.
Fagan played errorless defense the rest of the day, and had a
well-executed bunt and an RBI single in UF’s 9-0 win in game
two.
“My first couple games I was trying to be a power hitter that I’m
not,” she said. “This game I felt like I was more versatile and
showed my speed a little bit.”
“She had the one miscue off of her glove,” coach Tim Walton said.
“But offensively, getting little chips out of the nine hole and
turning that lineup over is huge. She really sparked us
today.”
It was a true team performance for the Gators, who received another
excellent start from senior Stephanie Brombacher.
Florida’s ace improved to 5-0 on the season after scattering five
hits over seven innings in the Gators’ 3-0 win in game one.
Florida’s horse worked her way out of some trouble in the third and
sixth innings, using some timely strikeouts to escape the
jams.
However, Brombacher wasn’t even the Gators best pitcher Saturday.
In the second game of the doubleheader, freshman Hannah Rogers came
within two outs of throwing a perfect game.
Backed by big home runs from Aja Aculba and Kelsey Horton, Rogers
shut down the Tar Heels’ lineup, surrendering just two hits in her
third win of the season.
Her early success comes as no surprise to Walton, who compared the
complementary styles of Brombacher and Rogers to that of Brombacher
and former Gator Stacey Nelson, when UF’s current ace was a
freshman.
“She doesn’t have the same inside pitches as Steph does, but she
has a little bit more break on a couple of her pitches,” Walton
said. “When Stephanie doesn’t have that off-speed pitch going all
the time, she’s able to maximize on that off-speed pitch.”
