Entering the weekend, Tennessee had to win one game at Pressly
Stadium to take the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division. The
Volunteers had to win two in Gainesville to be crowned SEC regular
season champions.
With a 7-2 loss to the Gators on Sunday afternoon, they failed to
do either.
Florida (47-8, 21-7 SEC) swept Tennessee (44-10, 20-8 SEC),
suppressing the nation’s most consistent offense for
three-consecutive days and winning the SEC East for the fourth
straight year.
“We
really needed this,” pitcher Hannah Rogers said. “We deserved
it.”
The
freshman right-hander got the start and pitched a complete game
with two strikeouts, extending her SEC-leading win total to 30.
After heavily favoring her drop ball in relief on Friday, Rogers
said she focused on mixing things up and utilizing all of her
pitches the past two days.
The
freshman was complemented by Florida’s ever-improving defense,
including catcher Tiffany DeFelice throwing out a runner for the
second day in a row.
“Really nice to have your catcher just shutting everything down and
hopping up and communicating and smiling a little bit,” head coach
Tim Walton said. “I haven’t seen her smile like that in a long
time.”
Kasey Fagan made two close plays running in from third—denying
Volunteer bunters the infield singles they have compiled much of
the year.
Offensively, the Gators were timely at the plate and made Tennessee
pay for two costly errors in the first after the Volunteers had
taken an early lead on a Lauren Gibson RBI double.
Right fielder Kat Dotson dropped a fly ball from Aja Paculba,
allowing the second baseman to reach third. After a Kelsey Bruder
RBI sacrifice groundout, shortstop Madison Shipman couldn’t field a
routine Megan Bush grounder, leading to a DeFelice RBI single.
“For us to come out and play solid defense, pitch well and get the
hits when we need them, it means a lot for us,” Paculba said.
Florida batters extended its lead in a four-run fourth, including
Kelsey Horton’s leadoff shot to left. Brittany Schutte soon
followed with a two-run single to right.
Tennessee started freshman pitcher Ellen Renfroe, only to remove
her in the third for her sister Ivy, and then re-enter her in the
game 1.1 innings later.
Before the game, the Gators finished their two-part Senior Day
celebration by honoring Bruder, Bush and Paculba. The three seniors
from Southern California have played against and with each other
since they were 9 years old.
“I
was known for the past three years [for] hyperventilating on Senior
Day,” Bruder said. “But it’s a little different when it happens to
you. I have a bigger goal in mind than spouting off all my
accolades.”
Bruder said her focus is on the postseason, which the Gators will
start Thursday when they play Auburn in the first round of the SEC
Tournament.
