After fanning Missouri’s Mackenzie Sykes for the final out of the seventh, junior right-hander Hannah Rogers ran to Taylore Fuller and hugged the freshman catcher as their teammates dashed out of the bullpen and joined the celebration.
Rogers had just sealed No. 1 seed Florida’s 10-4 victory against third-seeded Missouri and its first Southeastern Conference Tournament title since 2009.
During Florida’s three wins against eighth-seeded Alabama, fifth-seeded Georgia and Missouri, Rogers threw 288 pitches in 15 innings of work – including 186 in two contests Saturday. She tallied 14 strikeouts and allowed 14 hits and 11 runs in three matches. Ten of her 15 innings pitched were scoreless.
“She won’t give in,” coach Tim Walton said. “She’s not somebody who’s trying to get the ball over the plate that often. She’s trying to work the corners and change speeds. She’s really changed speeds. And I think the rise ball has really helped her too this year. Being able to get a few more strikeouts when people are looking down, down, down, she gets them to chase a little bit, too.”
Friday’s contests were canceled due to inclement weather, so Walton selected Rogers as Saturday’s starter against Georgia in the semifinals after a day of rest.
Rogers’ pitching helped Florida’s offense jump to early leads in its first two contests. She held Alabama and Georgia to one combined hit during the first four innings as Florida held leads of 4-0 and 9-0, respectively.
“I was just mixing it up and being confident with every pitch,” Rogers said after Florida’s 9-5 win against Georgia. “I was trusting the calls and letting my defense work for me behind me.”
When Rogers struggled on the mound, the Gators already held comfortable leads. In the fifth against the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, Rogers allowed a combined seven runs on seven hits.
After two hot starts on Thursday and early Saturday, Rogers came through in three innings of relief Saturday night against the Tigers. She earned her fourth save of the season, notching three strikeouts and giving up only three hits.
Rogers allowed a home run to Missouri designated player Rachel Hay in the sixth inning, but recovered and retired five of her final six batters.
Walton has seen Rogers refine her game this season and saw the results during the conference tournament.
“She’s just getting tighter spins, a little bit more revolutions on her spin, getting a little tighter rotation,” Walton said. “(She’s) not necessarily trying to throw it harder. Just getting the ball to break, getting the ball in and out of the strike zone.”
Gators learn NCAA Tournament seeding: Florida (52-7), the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, will host Hampton, USF and Georgia Southern this weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. UF will square off against Hampton first on Friday at 6 p.m.
USF (Big East), Hampton (Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference) and Georgia Southern (Southern Conference) also won their conference tournaments.
The Gators earned a top-five national seed for the sixth straight season. Seven of the tournament’s 16 national seeds were awarded to SEC squads.
A television broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Landon Watnick at lwatnick@alligator.org.
Junior Hannah Rogers waits in the circle during Florida’s 4-2 win against Mississippi State on April 6 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Rogers threw 288 pitches in 15 innings of work in the Southeastern Conference Tournament last weekend.
