Lauren Haeger would probably want to follow the advice of the late Ernie Banks.
Banks, a Baseball Hall of Fame inductee who played for the Chicago Cubs in the 1960’s and died on Jan. 23 at the age of 85, expressed his desire to play doubleheaders every day because of his love for the game.
"It’s a beautiful day for a ballgame," Banks used to say. "Let’s play two."
And if doubleheaders meant Haeger would perform as well as she did on Sunday against Iowa and N.C. State, the senior would probably want to play two every day as well.
In the Gators’ sweep of the Hawkeyes and the Wolfpack, Haeger went 4-for-5 in the batter’s box with 4 RBIs.
In the circle against N.C. State, the senior threw a complete-game shutout as she struck out 10 while giving up three hits over seven innings.
"For her to go out and throw out a shutout on Sunday, that’s impressive," coach Tim Walton said. "We threw her out today to see what she can do against a good hitting team…it says a lot. It says a lot of not only us, but a lot about her too."
Haeger opened up the scoring against N.C. State with a two-run single in the first inning to put Florida (11-0) up 2-0 early. The two runs were enough for her as Florida was able to beat N.C. State 3-0. Haeger is now 5-0 in the circle on the season, with a sparkling 0.00 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 23 innings pitched.
Small ball was another story for the Gators, as they had to manufacture runs in both games.
In its first game of the day against Iowa, an 8-0 win, UF had nine hits.
But Florida’s lone extra-base hits were a Kelsey Stewart leadoff double in the second inning and a Taylore Fuller solo home run in the third inning.
UF also reached base four times via walk and another five times due to being hit by a pitch, including Fuller who was hit twice.
Florida would end up getting hit three more times in its game against N.C. State to bring the total to eight on the day.
"It’s part of what we do," Walton said. "The hitters that can stay in there and take doses and get hit by pitch, are those hitters who have confidence to know they don’t have to retreat and get out of the way."
"It’s going to sting, but it’s not going to hurt you if you take it the correct way."
Florida ended up having more walks (14) than hits (12) in the games against the Wolfpack, but getting on base by any means is a plus.
"On base percentage to us is really important," Haeger said. "Not as much as hitting, because if you’re on base all the time it’s just as good."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
Lauren Haeger swings during Florida’s 2-0 win against Ole Miss on March 9 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
