Florida was scheduled to play 14 innings in its doubleheader against Syracuse and No. 7 Missouri in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Friday. The Gators and the Tigers nearly played 14 frames alone.
After winning its first 15 games, No. 5 Florida (16-1) fell to Missouri (9-1) 4-3 in 12 innings, setting the record for the longest game in UF history.
The Gators failed to take advantage of numerous opportunities with runners in scoring position.
After tying the game 2-2 in the fourth inning, Florida put a runner on second in two of the final three frames before extra innings. But Missouri pitcher Chelsea Thomas struck out three Gators with runners in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings to escape jams. Thomas notched 19 strikeouts in the game.
“She has a really good drop ball, and she’ll change it up,” freshman Kelsey Stewart said.
The international tiebreaker rule took effect in extra innings, placing a runner at second to begin each half inning. But it still took four frames before either side scored a run.
Hannah Rogers replaced Lauren Haeger after the fourth inning, and had one of her best performances of the season. Rogers tossed 7.2 innings in relief, striking out nine batters.
Despite her strong pitching, she picked up the loss.
Both teams scored runs in the 11th, setting the stage for the 12th inning.
The Gators nearly escaped the 12th without any damage.
Catcher Aubree Munro caught the placed runner at third base on a failed squeeze bunt, but Rogers surrendered a double to Missouri junior Mackenzie Sykes and gave up consecutive singles to end the game.
“Hannah gave it her all, and we couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Stewart said. “It just sucked that we put ourselves in that situation.”
But the weekend was not a total loss for Florida.
Following its defeat on Friday, Florida played Georgia Tech (9-7) in its final game of the Palm Springs, Calif., tournament. Rogers again relieved Haeger early in the game, pitching four innings out of the bullpen.
Florida’s offense was mostly dormant for the first five innings but came to life in the sixth inning after Bailey Castro singled, pitches hit Briana Little and Munro and senior Kelsey Horton walked.
Stewart came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a three-run double, providing the difference in the Gators’ 5-3 win.
“I was just getting back to what I was doing the first weekend,” Stewart said, referring to her performance at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., which earned her Southeastern Conference Player of the Week honors.
On Thursday, Florida picked up wins against Loyola Marymount and Oklahoma State.
The first game saw a potent Gators offense score eight runs, including two homers. But the second game showcased Haeger in the circle. She fanned eight batters en route to a complete-game shutout
The pitching was also strong in the Gators’ first game on Friday as Alyssa Bache started against Syracuse. Bache pitched a complete game, surrendering one run while matching a career-high nine strikeouts.
Despite suffering the first blemish on their record this year, Stewart said the weekend was positive for the Gators.
“Yeah, we lost,” Stewart said. “But there’s a lot of positive things to take from it. We have so much fight.”
Second baseman Kelsey Stewart (7) catches a ball during warmups between innings in Florida’s 9-1 win against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 17 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
