Lauren Haeger and the Gators were too much the Dolphins to handle, as No. 1 UF routed Jacksonville 16-1 on Wednesday night at the Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex in Jacksonville.
Leading off the top of the second inning, senior Bailey Castro blasted a solo home run, her second of the season, to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.
Castro hit her first dinger against Jacksonville (2-4) on Sunday.
She finished the night perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3.
Following Castro’s blast, the Gators (6-0) loaded the bases before junior Taylor Schwarz hit a sharp ground ball to the shortstop for an RBI single to give UF a 2-0 lead.
With the bases still loaded, junior Kelsey Stewart worked an RBI walk, which was followed by a run-scoring ground ball from freshman Nicole DeWitt, who reached on an error to boost UF’s lead to 4-0.
Still in the second inning, junior Kirsti Merritt drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to right field before Haeger stepped to the plate and crushed a two-run double to center field to give the Gators a 7-0 lead.
After Jacksonville swapped pitchers, Kayli Kvistad tacked on two more runs with a two-run double down the right-field line.
The freshman tallied a game-high four RBIs.
The Gators added four runs in the third inning as Merritt hit her second RBI sacrifice fly ball of the game and Haeger ripped an RBI single to left field that scored Stewart from third base.
Kvistad drove in two more runs with a pop-up to the second baseman, who couldn’t catch it cleanly.
"When we start to get some runs, it’s like blood in the water," coach Tim Walton said in a release.
"Our hitters get a lot more aggressive and the lead starts to grow."
In the circle, Haeger, who drove in three runs, dominated the Dolphins, striking out six batters through her three innings of work.
The senior also gave up three hits, all of which were singles.
Already up 13-0 heading into the top of the fourth inning, the Gators scored another three runs – all with the bases loaded.
Seniors Francesca Martinez and Jessica Damico walked, and Briana Little was hit by a pitch with the bags full.
Jacksonville added its lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning when senior Lexie Ballard hit a solo home run off of freshman Aleshia Ocasio, who came back and struck out the next three batters, stopping the Dolphins’ momentum.
Sophomore Delanie Gourley struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth inning to close out the 16-1 win.
Combined, Florida pitchers surrendered one earned run on four hits and struck out 12 in five innings.
"We had six strikeouts in relief today, [which was] very important," Walton said. "That mainly goes to the fact that we wanted to get them all in the game, keep them sharp and get them ready for five games this weekend."
The Gators next game will be a home game against North Carolina State on Friday at 6 p.m.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @pinakk12
Lauren Haeger swings during Florida’s 2-0 win against Ole Miss on March 9 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
