Taylor Schwarz struggled through Florida’s first two games against Kentucky.
The freshman first baseman went 0 for 6 while striking out four times on Friday and Saturday.
But Schwarz was locked in at the plate on Sunday.
Schwarz went 3 for 3 with a home run and a triple in No. 3 Florida’s (41-5, 14-4 Southeastern Conference) 6-3 win against No. 18 Kentucky (31-12, 9-6 SEC).
The win clinched the Gators’ sixth straight SEC series.
“It felt really good,” Schwarz said.
“I definitely have to give credit to Coach (Tim) Walton, because he kept me up after those two days. Hitting is a confidence struggle in this game, so he just kind of told me, ‘Don’t get down on yourself.’”
Walton’s words proved helpful for Schwarz.
She broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the second inning with a leadoff homer that gave the Gators a lead they would never relinquish.
Schwarz came up big again in the third when she singled to left field, scoring two more runs to give Florida a 5-1 lead, tied for the biggest advantage the Gators had in the series.
Schwarz added a triple to start the sixth inning, but did not get a chance to hit for the cycle.
Sophomore Bailey Castro flew out to end Florida’s half of the seventh, two batters away from Schwarz in the seven-hole.
“I was hoping a little bit,” Schwarz said of getting another at-bat in pursuit of a cycle.
“But after that, I was like, ‘OK, let’s win this.’”
Schwarz had a chance to drive in three runs because the top of the order managed to get on base often.
The first four batters in Florida’s lineup got on seven times in 16 plate appearances.
They drove in three of the Gators’ six runs in the rubber game.
Freshman second baseman Kelsey Stewart picked up where she left off against USF on Wednesday, going 6 for 11 at the plate against the Wildcats and scoring four runs.
Stewart put Florida on the board early on Sunday.
She hit a single to lead off the game, stole second and scored on a single by sophomore Lauren Haeger. The Gators scored the first run in all three games of the series.
“If we score in the first inning, you know it’s going to be a good game,” Stewart said.
Florida needed the early cushion against Kentucky.
Although UF scored first in each game, UK came back to within at least one run in all three games.
Florida’s pitchers struggled to keep Kentucky hitters off the base paths all weekend, with mixed results.
Junior Hannah Rogers started for Florida on Sunday, and she struggled for her third straight outing.
After giving up three earned runs in a complete-game win on Friday, the right-hander gave up another three in three innings in the rubber game.
Sophomore Alyssa Bache relieved Rogers in the fourth and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
Haeger pitched the final 1.2 innings, notching her second save of the season after picking up the loss on Saturday.
“It was really a good mix of everybody,” Haeger said.
“I think that’s why we were successful.”
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Florida first baseman Taylor Schwarz (49) hits during Florida's 4-2 victory against Mississippi State on April 6 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Schwarz had one run after two attempts at bat. Schwarz homered twice in Florida's 9-5 win against Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.
