Florida found their rhythm Friday night against Long
Island – then the rain came.
The Gators, up 7-0 in the top of the fifth, had
senior Michelle Moultrie at the plate with freshman Jessica Damico
in scoring position with two outs.
There was a slight drizzle throughout the game but
after one pitch to Moultrie, the rain started to pick up, causing
the umpires to gather and halt the game until 10:30 a.m.
Saturday.
It took until the fifth inning for Florida to start
living up to their No. 2/4 ranking. The youthful squad committed
three errors in the first two frames and could manage just one run
in the first and third innings.
Freshman Lauren Haeger drove in the first run of the
game, and of her collegiate career, with a sacrifice hit in the
first to bring in Moultrie. With a RBI single in the third, junior
Brittany Schutte drove in freshman Sami Fagan to put Long Island in
a 2-0 hole.
The Gators then broke the floodgates open in the
fifth, scoring six runs on four hits. The Blackbirds allowed just
four hits in the first four innings. Florida’s offensive outburst
was helped by two wild pitches thrown by Long Island’s Sarah
Reynolds in addition to a Blackbirds’ error.
On Saturday morning, the skies cleared and the game
continued with Moultrie, Sami Fagan and Haeger drawing three
consecutive walks. Haeger’s second RBI of the game gave the Gators
an 8-0 lead.
With sophomore Hannah Rogers pitching four shutout
innings of two-hit ball Friday night, coach Tim Walton gave her a
break Saturday. He turned to freshman Alyssa Bache to close out the
Blackbirds.
Bache clocked in two quick outs, including her first
strikeout of her career. After giving up a walk, she forced a
fielder’s choice to mercy rule Long Island and give Florida their
first win of the season.
Walton and the Gators will take the field again
tonight at 6:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. against Maine and Illinois
State, respectively. The game Friday night against Florida Gulf
Coast that was postponed due to rain is expected to be played
Sunday.
