It didn’t take long for Florida’s top three power hitters to respond after being called out just a day ago.
Coach Tim Walton said after Friday’s 6-0 win over Florida A&M that Bailey Castro, Lauren Haeger and Taylore Fuller needed to produce runs a little better after the trio went a combined 0-for-6 with two RBI.
On Saturday, the three sluggers promptly went a combined 6-for-12 at the plate with two home runs and five RBI as the No. 1-seeded Gators took down Hofstra 7-0 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
“We were sort of called out for not producing runs, which we weren’t at all,” Fuller said. “When we get hit, we come back and hit harder.”
Haeger and Fuller knocked in four total runs in the first inning off Hofstra pitcher Taylor Pirone.
Haeger chopped an RBI single over the third baseman’s head to take a 1-0 lead.
A few batters later, Taylore Fuller deposited a changeup over the centerfield wall for a three-run home run. The blast was Fuller’s 13th of the season, and her 54 RBI are second best on the team behind Haeger’s 62.
“It was a different speed, it was slower than what she was throwing,” Fuller said. “I’ve been working on going through the middle and I did just that.”
Following the first frame, both team’s bats went relatively silent.
The Gators scattered four hits over the next three innings, while Hofstra recorded just one hit during the same time period.
While the scoring came to a halt, Haeger, who started in the circle, did not.
Haeger struck out five hitters in a row at one point between the first and third innings. The Peoria, Arizona, native struck out eight batters in seven scoreless innings.
“It’s all about keeping the same tempo,” Haeger said. “I was hitting my spots really well and executing my pitches in all the counts.”
In the fifth inning, Florida added two runs to take a 6-0 lead when Kelsey Stewart ripped a two-run single up the middle.
Castro tacked on one more run in the sixth inning with a solo home run that just cleared the left field wall. The homer was her 17th of the season, extending her team lead.
“Today we just tried to step it up with the bulk of our lineup and just kind of try to put better swings on pitches,” Castro said.
Florida will next play Sunday for a chance to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
Taylore Fuller bats against Jacksonville during Florida’s 6-0 win on Feb. 19, 2014, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Fuller helped lead the Gators to a 7-0 victory over Hofstra on Saturday.
