Hannah Rogers struggled in her last three appearances against light-hitting Mississippi State and Kentucky, but she dominated a Longwood lineup with three .400 hitters.
Rogers struck out 11 in her complete-game win in Game 1 of No. 3 Florida’s (44-5, 14-4 Southeastern Conference) doubleheader against Longwood (33-13, 13-5 Big South Conference) on Saturday.
After rain delayed the games for four hours, Rogers came out throwing strikes. She struck out the first two batters of the game, Kori Nishitomi and Megan Baltzell, who were both batting over .400. Baltzell came into the series with 22 homers.
“I was just using all my pitches and just trying to go to what the other team would struggle with,” Rogers said. “They were a great team. They made adjustments every time they came up, too.”
Rogers had one of her strongest outings of the season, allowing one run on five hits while tying her season high in punch outs in Florida’s 5-1 series-opening win.
Sophomore Lauren Haeger followed Rogers with another strong outing.
The right-hander set a season-best in strikeouts in the second game of the doubleheader, setting down 10 Lancers on strikes. Haeger pitched six strong innings before struggling and giving up three runs in the seventh. She still picked up a complete-game win.
Haeger also broke out of her extended slump at the plate. She only had four hits in Florida’s last 15 games, but went 3 for 7 at the plate on Saturday with a home run, a double and two RBI.
“It’s hard when you feel like you’re not getting pitches, and you feel like you have to do too much,” coach Tim Walton said. “Sometimes it’s more mental than physical.”
The Gators offense was fueled by a solid performance from several spots in the lineup. Outfielder Briana Little and third baseman Stephanie Tofft both hit two home runs on the day. Tofft went 5 for 7 in the doubleheader with two bombs, a double and a triple, raising her average to .304.
“I was seeing the ball well today,” Tofft said. “I’ve been spending a lot of time working with Coach Walton with my swing, just trying to get it right. It’s been working, I guess.”
Florida finishes its three-game series with Longwood on Sunday at 1.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Junior Hannah Rogers pitches during Florida’s 7-3 win against FSU on March 27 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Rogers struck out 11 in her complete-game victory against Longwood on Saturday.
