LSU’s Bianka Bell knew it was gone the moment the ball left her bat.
With the game tied at 3, Bell crushed a home run to right-center field off of Lauren Haeger to give No. 3 LSU a 6-3 lead in the top of the sixth.
It was a lead the Tigers (27-1, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) would not relinquish as they beat No. 1 Florida (28-2, 1-2 SEC) 10-3 to take two out of three in Florida’s opening SEC series.
Bell dominated Florida’s pitching staff during the three-game series, going 10-for-14 with a double, eight RBIs and 14 total bases. Bell went 4-for-4 in the opening game and went 3-for-5 in the final two games.
"We saw the back of her jersey on the bases the whole time, she’s a good player," coach Tim Walton said.
Kirsti Merritt put Florida ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the third inning when she blasted her seventh home run of the year to center field. LSU starting pitcher Kelsee Selman settled down from then on and shut down UF as she only allowed three more Gators to reach base the rest of the game.
"She just pitched a great game," Merritt said. "She was hitting her spots, she was getting us to chase a little bit which we knew she was going to try to do. She just executed very well."
Aleshia Ocasio earned the start for Florida one day after allowing a go-ahead grand slam to LSU’s Kellsi Kloss. Ocasio allowed eight hits and five runs, three of them earned, as she picked up her second loss of the season.
"She pitched great. … I felt like she gave us the best chance to win this weekend," Walton said. "We make a couple better pitches and you know, who knows, the outcome could be a little bit different."
Haeger came on in relief of Ocasio in the sixth inning. Haeger didn’t make a single start during the three-game set against the Tigers, instead coming on in relief in each game.
Haeger was brought into the game to face Bell after she was able to get her out in the second game of the series. Bell would get the best of her this time around as she hit the go ahead home run.
As a whole, UF’s pitching staff came into the series with a 0.76 ERA and had only allowed 28 runs, 18 of them earned, through 27 games. In the three games against LSU, Florida’s staff allowed 27 runs, 19 of them being earned.
After losing two consecutive games following a 28-0 start to the season, Walton said the team has to keep a level head and the upperclassmen will need to pick it up.
"We’re not going to overreact," Walton said. "We’ve got a veteran team, we got some young kids in there, but we’ve got a veteran group on the back end that’s going to have to do a little bit better."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
Lauren Haeger pitches during Florida's 14-10 loss to LSU on Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
