In a battle between two freshmen, Florida’s Nicole DeWitt came up with the biggest hit of her young career off of Alexis Osorio.
DeWitt pinch hit for Briana Little in the top of the sixth and on a 3-2 count, she hit a ball up the middle that would get past a diving Danae Hays at short and into center field.
Alabama’s Haylie McCleney couldn’t field it cleanly, which allowed Kayli Kvistad to score from second.
It was the only run No. 3 Florida and pitcher Lauren Haeger needed as they beat No. 5 Alabama 1-0.
Haeger needed to bounce back and have a good performance in the circle after giving up what would be the game winning home run against LSU. She responded in a big way and pitched a complete game giving up four hits and striking out two.
It wasn’t her most dominant performance, but the Peoria, Arizona native got the job done with timely pitching and a strong defense behind her.
In the fourth inning, Haeger allowed a leadoff double to Hays, but Haeger was able to strand her at third base as she got out of the inning unscathed.
Haeger needed her defense more than ever in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After Alabama’s Andrea Hawkins got her second hit of the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, Kallie Case hit a ball to left field.
The ball got past Little and rolled to the wall. Little came up with the ball and threw to Kathlyn Medina who relayed to Aubree Munro to get Hawkins out at home.
Hawkins initially tried to tag up at second thinking Little would make the catch on the fly. Hawkins’ hesitation and base running blunder would prove costly as Florida would take a 1-0 lead the very next inning that led to the win.
In what was supposed to be a three game series over three days, both teams decided to have a doubleheader on Friday because of the high chance of inclement weather on Saturday.
The rain came one day early and the second game of the doubleheader was postponed until Monday. Alabama leads the game 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning. Kelsey Stewart is up to bat for Florida with a 1-0 count with Justine McLean on third base.
The third and final game of the series will begin after the second game is completed.
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
