In the final day of the USF Softball Tournament, Florida notched its fourth and fifth wins of season against USF and Florida Gulf Coast.
The Gators squeezed out a 3-2 victory against the Bulls in extra-innings in front of a record-breaking USF Softball Field crowd of 1,261.
The pitching matchup between freshman Lauren Haeger of Florida and sophomore Sara Nevins of USF was evenly matched, as each went into the sixth allowing just one run.
“USF played a really good ballgame,” Florida coach Tim Walton said.
“Their pitcher pitched well. I thought she really did good.”
However, Nevins made a critical mistake in the top of the eighth, giving up a two-run home run to junior Kelsey Horton.
Horton took a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence, finally breaking the tie that lasted for more than six innings.
“I could feel it,” Horton said.
“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was gone. We have a lot of people that always come through, so I was just happy that it could be me.”
Walton knew how big of a hit it was for Horton, who is from Tampa and had family in attendance.
“It’s nice to have a home run in your bag of tricks if you need it,” Walton said.
“She really pulled it out with one of the biggest hits of her career. It was special for her in her hometown, so it was nice.”
USF tried to stage a rally in the bottom half of the inning, scoring one to bring the game to 3-2. Its efforts were not enough, however, as sophomore Hannah Rogers stepped up and shut the Bulls down.
In 2.2 innings, Rogers only allowed one hit in a winning relief performance.
Approximately 30 minutes after Rogers threw her last pitch against USF, she got the start and dealt a three-hit shutout against Florida Gulf Coast to help UF win 5-0.
“Coming off of a tough game like (USF), I just had to stay confident in myself and go out there and throw like it was any other game,” Rogers said.
The game was originally scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday before being postponed by rain. It was tied at zero until the fifth inning, when the Florida bats finally came alive.
Horton came through with another RBI, while freshman Sami Fagan and junior Brittany Schutte added two of their own.
A five run lead against the Eagles was plenty for Rogers, who has recorded four of the five Gator victories.
“I’m feeling good,” Rogers said.
“But I feel like I can get better, there’s always room for improvement. I’m never satisfied with anything I do. But I’m proud of our team.”
