Florida still had plenty of pop left against Illinois
State on Saturday night.
Immediately coming off their 8-0 win against Maine,
the Gators cranked out 11 more runs to defeat the Redbirds handily,
11-0.
Coach Tim Walton’s players did not waste any time,
scoring five runs in just the first frame. Sophomore Cheyenne Coyle
gave her team a 4-0 lead with one swing of the bat, knocking a 3-1
pitch into deep center for a grand slam. Sophomore Kasey Fagan
added on two batters latter with an RBI double.
The very next inning, freshman Lauren Haeger belted
her first career home run, giving her three of her four RBI for the
night in just one at-bat.
“I felt like I had a job to do, and I wanted to show
them what I got,” Haeger said.
Haeger and Coyle combined for two home runs, a double
and a single for 9 of the 11 Florida RBI.
“They are batting No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, for
a reason,” Walton said. “They both have power, [so] I’m happy.”
In fact, the top half of the lineup for the Gators
has produced mightily so far this weekend. Collecting 23 of the 30
hits in the first three games helped boost Florida’s offensive
output, which has put on a clinic against Long Island, Maine and,
most recently, Illinois State.
“The top of the lineup is awesome,” Walton said.
“Michelle [Moultrie] and Sami [Fagan] are really getting us going.
It’s a nice jumpstart for what we’re trying to do: be athletic and
be offensive.”
Although the offense putting up 27 runs in just three
games has been an eye-catching statistic, Walton likes the fact
that the combined efforts of Haeger, freshman Alyssa Bache and
sophomore Hannah Rogers have resulted in just eight total hits.
Rogers was one shy of tying her career high in
strikeouts, 12, and gave up just one walk to bring her season
strikeout to walk ratio to 7.5:1. All this was done, of course,
without allowing a single runner to cross the plate.
“I like the shutouts,” Walton said. “[If] we shut
everyone out, then we’ll win every game. And I think that’s a good
sign.