Before its series against Mississippi State, Florida coach Tim Walton wanted to see his offense step up its game.
And did it ever in the first inning against the Bulldogs in game two of the series.
No. 3 Florida (32-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) used an 11 run top of the first inning to run rule Mississippi State (24-10, 4-7 SEC) 16-2 in five innings on Saturday.
Kelsey Stewart started things early, leading off the game with her first home run of the season.
Stewart would end up reaching base five times as she went 3-for-3 with two walks and five RBIs. Her batting average on the season has now crept up to over .400.
Florida took a 2-0 lead after a Bailey Castro sacrifice fly, which scored Kirsti Merritt.
After that, the freshmen for Florida would do most of the damage.
Aleshia Ocasio would be hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to increase UF’s lead to 4-0. Two batters later, Kayli Kvistad cleared the bases after she hit a three RBI double that pushed the Gators’ lead to 9-0.
Nicole DeWitt topped the scoring after she hit a two RBI double that would end the scoring in the first inning. DeWitt went 3-for-5 in the game with two RBIs.
The three freshmen combined for seven RBIs in the game.
Florida sent 17 batters to the plate to start the game, and the 11 runs in the inning were the most scored for the team in a first inning since 2012.
Justine McLean ended up getting two of the three outs for the team in the first.
The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native was one of three starters, along with Castro and Lauren Haeger, to not record a hit in the game.
Ocasio started in the circle for Florida and pitched three innings giving up two hits and striking out four. Ocasio is now 11-2 on the season.
Delanie Gourley came on in relief for Ocasio and pitched the final two innings of the game.
Florida will be looking for its first SEC sweep of the season when they close out the series against Mississippi State Sunday at noon.
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
Aleshia Ocasio pitches during Florida's 4-1 win against Illinois State on Feb. 21 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
