In his 10th season as the Florida softball head coach, Tim Walton etched numbers 500 and 501 in the win column Saturday.
Walton’s No. 1-ranked Gators displayed both their small ball and long ball ability as they defeated N.C. State 5-3 and run-ruled Iowa 8-0 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium to improve to 9-0 on the season.
In a close game against the Wolfpack, UF struck early in the first inning. After Kelsey Stewart walked and stole second base, junior Kirsti Merritt was hit by a pitch. Then three straight walks to Lauren Haeger, Bailey Castro and Taylore Fuller put Florida up 2-0.
The Gators tacked on a run in the fourth inning with more small ball action. Sophomore Justine McLean led off the inning with a ground ball single to shortstop, which was followed by another Stewart walk. After a sacrifice bunt from freshman Nicole DeWitt that advanced the runners, Merritt plopped down a bunt that scored McLean from third base.
Sophomore Delanie Gourley’s no-hit bid came to an end with two outs in the top of the fifth inning when Wolfpack second baseman Alyssa Compton doubled over McLean’s head in left field. Compton then came around to score on a dribbler off the bat of Renada Davis, which Gourley threw wildly to first base to make the score 3-1.
Florida’s lead was cut down to one run in the top of the sixth inning when N.C. State catcher Molly Hutchinson launched a solo home run over the scoreboard in left center field.
The home run was Gourley’s lone earned run in the game. The Lakeside, California, native allowed two hits and struck out 11 through six innings as she improved to 2-0.
In the bottom half of the sixth inning, Haeger laced a two-run single up the middle to give Florida a 5-2 lead.
“I started to feel her towards the end of the game and I just had a plan to try to hit it up the middle,” Haeger said.
Freshman Aleshia Ocasio gave up a leadoff home run to N.C. State’s Morgan Medford in the top of the seventh inning, but she regrouped and struck out the next three batters she faced, sealing the win.
Against Iowa, the Gators clobbered three home runs. Castro opened the scoring with a two-run moonshot over the left field fence. Junior Aubree Munro blasted a three-run round-tripper that capped off a five-run third inning. Haeger tallied the final run in the fourth inning with a solo dinger to center field that gave the Gators an 8-0 lead.
“I got up there [and] was seeing the ball great,” Haeger said. “Everyone was seeing the ball great so I had confidence that we were gonna score a lot of runs.”
The run support was plenty for Haeger, who tossed five shutout innings, allowing two hits while striking out eight. The senior improved to 4-0 on the season.
Florida compiled 11 total walks and five hit-by-pitches during its two wins Saturday – which Walton took pride in.
“It’s what we do,” Walton said. “We get hit by pitch, we walk, we manufacture things.”
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @pinakk12
Coach Tim Walton was more than happy to empty his bench in Florida's 19-3 win over Florida A&M on Wednesday. “I think overall the main priority is to get everybody at-bats and to keep our timing right," he said.
