The Gators got back on their feet Friday afternoon after suffering their first loss of the season on Thursday.
After No. 5 Washington snapped Florida’s 10-game winning streak, BYU and No. 8 Texas each had their chance to pile on the No. 1 team in the nation. Instead, coach Tim Walton’s squad rebounded and grabbed two more wins to improve its record to 12-1 on the season and 3-1 in the Cathedral City Classic.
“When you lose and you beat yourself, you get frustrated,” Walton said. “We played pretty solid yesterday and we came out today and played about the same.”
But this time, the Gators finished the day without any losses.
Freshman Lauren Haeger, who earned the loss against the Huskies on Thursday, pitched six innings of shutout softball against the unranked Cougars for her fourth win of the year. Haeger showed off her skills that earned her the Southeastern Conference Freshman Player of the Week, striking out five while surrendering just two walks.
“We weren’t really discouraged [after the loss],” Haeger said. “We were more excited to get some wins today. We definitely bounced back this morning, got our hits and I was pitching a little bit better. We made a lot of adjustments today.”
Meanwhile, the Gators’ bats came through with three runs behind two home runs. Junior Ensley Gammel’s solo shot put her team up by one in the third. Sophomore Cheyenne Coyle added on with a two-run homer the next inning.
The two big hits were good enough for Florida as they defeated BYU 3-0. However, the Gators faced a stiffer challenge in the top-ten Longhorns in their second game of the double-header.
Coyle and Gammel both stepped up with home runs for the second time Friday, each going yard in the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie with Texas.
“I was very excited to see those guys get good pitches to hit and put a good swing on it,” Walton said. “No matter what happens in tomorrow’s game, I think our team can feel good about their performances.”
But there was more production from other Florida hitters against Texas. Haeger knocked in the first and fourth runs with a sacrifice fly and RBI double, respectively. Following Haeger’s double, junior Brittany Schutte made it a 5-1 game with a sacrifice fly.
The Gator' lead held at 5-1 for their second win Friday, and now Walton looks forward to Saturday's matchup against Boise State.
“We have some confidence to work on, some defense to work on, some offense to work on, some pitching to work on,” Walton said. “We still have to get better and that’s the nuts and bolts of college softball. Any given day any team can beat you, so you better bring your ‘A’ game.”
