Chelsea Herndon showed why she deserved to be in the Gators’ starting lineup on Wednesday.
After Florida shut out Mercer in the first game of its doubleheader with an 8-0 five-inning win, Game 2 of the day had much less offense.
Both teams were scoreless heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, and Florida had only two hits through the first six frames — a stark contrast from the 10 hits the team plated in five innings to start off the day.
Hoping to avoid extra innings after already playing three-and-a-half hours of softball, Herndon provided a spark for the Gators, hitting a leadoff triple to put herself 60 feet away from winning the game.
Florida drew three straight walks after Herndon’s play to take a 1-0 win.
“I wasn’t really trying to hit a home run or anything,” she said. “I was just trying to get on base to spark the team with Lauren Haeger coming up next.”
Herndon started at second base in both contests against the Bears (17-9, 2-1 Atlantic Sun) after previously starting only six games for the No. 1 Gators (26-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference).
After starting five games in the outfield, Herndon had to correct her play to keep up with the pace of playing in the infield.
“(The game) moves much quicker in the infield,” Herndon said. “There are more pop flies in the outfield. I’m just learning to adjust, giving it all I got every day. I’m willing to go wherever the team needs me.”
Added coach Tim Walton: “She’s a natural infielder. She’s not really an outfielder, so to get her a lot more reps in the infield now is probably a lot more comfortable for her, but the game is slowing down for her.”
After going 2 for 5 at the plate and scoring two of Florida’s nine runs on Wednesday, Herndon is now batting .357 on the season and has scored 11 runs.
“The reason she’s playing is because she’s making things happen,” Walton said.
“She’s been fun to watch. We got a lot more at-bats at the top of the lineup and she’s really doing a good job.”
Florida’s two games against Mercer were complete opposites.
In Game 1, the Gators had eight different players with at least one hit and six of them scored.
But after the 30-minute break between games ceased, that offensive production looked nonexistent, with Florida’s batting average dropping from .455 to .150.
Walton said playing a nail-biter like the second game against a non-conference team in Mercer will only help the team as it moves along with its SEC slate.
“There’s nothing like having at-bats with a 0-0 ballgame,” Walton said.
“There’s nothing like playing defense in a 0-0 ballgame. Same with pitching. It really prepares you.”
UF had solid performances in the circle, with senior Hannah Rogers and freshman Delanie Gourley both pitching complete-game shutouts against Mercer.
Rogers (10-1) gave up two hits in five innings while striking out five batters and walking none.
Gourley (10-0) pitched seven scoreless innings in the second game, extending her streak of scoreless innings pitched to 27. The freshman left-hander notched nine strikeouts, bringing her total to 66 on the year, and dropped her ERA to a 1.17.
“Delanie got her strikeouts when she needed to and showed some good poise,” Walton said. “And Hannah did the same thing. We had some opportunities in the first game to let our guard down and give up runs.
“I thought Hannah stepped up and made her pitches. Delanie did the same in the second game, throwing her riseball really well, getting some good strikes early in the count, but I thought they both pitched really well today.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Chelsea Herndon runs toward first base in Florida’s 6-0 win against Jacksonville on Feb. 19 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Herndon scored the only run in UF’s 1-0 win in Game 2 against Mercer on Wednesday.
