After topping Illinois State 3-2 earlier in the day, Florida was down 1-0 against Wisconsin in the top of the sixth inning when Aubree Munro stepped up to the plate.
The Gators, with one out and sophomores Taylore Fuller and Taylor Schwarz on first and second, had only two hits up to that point in the game.
But with a full count, Munro native ripped the ball into left center for a single, allowing Schwarz to score the game-tying run.
Florida then rallied in the seventh inning, notching four more runs as the No. 4 Gators defeated the Badgers 5-3 to win their second game of the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament on Friday in Tampa.
On the day, Munro went 4 of 6 at the plate, which included a career-high three hits and two doubles against Illinois State, and notched 2 RBIs.
“Aubree had a really good offseason, a really good fall and into the early part of this spring,” coach Tim Walton said. “She’s really been swinging the bat well, and I’m happy with the way she’s come through with some nice early-season clutch hits.”
Outside of Munro, Schwarz was the only consistent batter during the double-header for Florida (3-0). After the first baseman hit a home run in the second inning against Illinois State (0-1) to open up scoring, Schwarz went 2-for-3 against Wisconsin (0-1), notching a second RBI and scoring two runs of her own.
In the pitching circle, junior Lauren Haeger had her first start of the season against Illinois State, holding the Redbirds to three hits and two earned runs through six innings while striking out seven batters.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Delanie Gourley also received playing time against Illinois State, earning her first collegiate save after striking out two batters in the seventh inning.
“I’m happy for the way they’re going out and making pitches,” Walton said. “They’re really not getting hit too hard, and they’re not giving up too many runs.”
Against Wisconsin, Hannah Rogers had a performance that was almost identical to her debut against No. 25 South Florida on Thursday.
The senior right-handed pitcher gave a home run to Wisconsin’s Stephanie Peace in the first inning to give the Badgers an early 1-0 lead. Then Rogers held the Badgers scoreless for the following five innings only to give up two runs in the seventh. In UF’s 10-3 win against No. 25 USF, Rogers gave up two runs in the sixth inning after holding the Bulls scoreless following a first-inning home run.
Florida continues action in the tournament on Saturday, facing No. 5 Michigan at 3 p.m. “I think when you play somebody of Michigan’s caliber, coming off a College World Series run, they’ve got a really good coaching staff and pitching staff,” Walton said. “We’ve got to do the same things we always do: Focus on ourselves, get a little bit better at some of our mental mistakes, but really just play our kind of softball.”
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Taylor Schwarz prepares for the pitch during Florida’s 8-0 win against Arkansas on March 22 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
