For five games, Lauren Haeger was arguably the best softball player in the country.
From March 16-22, she went 7 for 12 at the plate. Five of those hits left the park, while the remaining two were RBI doubles. She drove in 13 runs and walked seven times during the span.
But since a doubleheader against Arkansas on March 22, Haeger has fallen into a deep slump. The sophomore is 1 for 14 in her last five games, including a 1-for-8 stretch in Florida’s weekend series against Ole Miss.
“I was coming off a really hot weekend,” Haeger said. “You can’t be on top all the time.”
Haeger drew three walks during the weekend and scored a run after hitting a single in Game 3 of the series, but was otherwise unproductive. When she made outs, she was unable to move runners over.
In Game 2 of the series, she came up in the first inning with runners on first and third with no outs. With a chance to blow the game open, Haeger was caught looking on strikes.
In the same game, she had a chance to put the Rebels away. With one out and two runners on, she had the opportunity to drive in the eighth run that would have run-ruled Ole Miss. Haeger hit a line drive that was fielded by the third baseman and turned into a 5-3 double play.
“I felt a little off timing,” Haeger said.
To help time the ball better and shorten up her swing, she showed bunt before the pitch in several of her at-bats.
“I often go to that when my swing isn’t quite working the way I want it to,” Haeger said.
But the Gators offense picked up where she left off.
Despite Haeger notching only one hit in the series, No. 3 Florida (35-3, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) scored 20 runs.
After Haeger struck out in the first inning of Game 2, senior Kelsey Horton bailed her out with a two-out grand slam to put Florida up 5-0 in the first inning.
“It’s always good to know that if I struggle, there’s other people behind me who can come up with big hits at big times,” Haeger said.
Coach Tim Walton switched up the lineup for the Ole Miss series. Third baseman Stephanie Tofft moved up to second in the lineup and center fielder Kirsti Merritt moved to fifth. Haeger stayed in the three-hole.
“I wanted to try to figure out how to generate a little bit more offense when either... Lauren’s being pitched around, or... when Lauren’s not swinging the bat as well as we’re used to,” Walton said.
Rogers earns award again: For the second straight week, the SEC honored Hannah Rogers.
The league named Rogers the SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday for the second consecutive week after she pitched in all four games the Gators played.
The junior right-hander pitched 25 innings dating back to Florida’s 7-3 win against Florida State on Wednesday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
In those four games, she surrendered only four earned runs while striking out 21 batters.
“Coming from Wednesday and the big win we got, I think the energy just carried over,” Rogers said.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Sophomore pitcher and first baseman Lauren Haeger swings during Florida’s 6-5 win against Tennessee on March 15 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Haeger hit her first home run since March 22 in the Gators' 7-4 win against the No. 18 Wildcats.
