Kelsey Stewart couldn’t wait.
She called herself safe even before the umpire did.
After Kayli Kvistad’s single touched down in right field, Stewart sprinted around third.
When the senior slid under the tag and over home plate, she gave the Gators a 3-2 lead over the Crimson Tide in the bottom of the fifth.
That was all it took.
Stewart was the last player to cross the plate as No. 1 Florida (34-2, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) held on to beat No. 7 Alabama on Saturday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville.
Runs were hard to come by, even with Alexis Osorio — Alabama’s worst starting pitcher with a 2.89 ERA — in the circle.
“Obviously they've done a good job scouting us,” coach Tim Walton said in a release. “Osorio did a really good job as she pitched very well today.”
Despite Florida loading the bases in the first, no team scored until the third. With two outs and a runner on first, Amanda Lorenz doubled to right center, driving in senior Kirsti Merritt to give UF a 1-0 lead.
Lorenz leads the team with 10 doubles, five more than the next Gator, Kvistad. Lorenz’s .406 batting average is on pace to be the highest for a freshman in program history.
Freshman pitcher Kelly Barnhill hadn’t given up a hit going into the top of the fourth, but the Crimson Tide (30-7, 4-4 SEC) came creeping back.
With one out and a runner on first, Alabama freshman catcher Reagan Dykes ripped a line drive over the left-field fence for a home run, leaving Florida in a 2-1 hole.
But Taylor Schwarz had her pitcher’s back. In the bottom half of the fourth, the senior tied the game at two when she hit a solo-shot in the same place as Dykes’ but about 20 feet farther.
Saturday was her first start since March 6, and the home run was her second out of her 10 hits on the year.
“I thought Schwarz was the difference in that game,” Walton said after the game. “She’s had an at-bat almost in every single game. (We) put her in defense every single game.”
“She’s been getting after at-bats. (We’ve) been noticing her swing’s getting a little more on plane. She seems to be having a little more confidence, too.”
By the time the bottom of the fifth came around, Stewart was 0-for-2 but undeterred.
The senior looped a single into right and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Merritt.
On Kvistad’s base hit, Walton waved Stewart around third as she narrowly beat the throw and tag, giving Florida the 3-2 edge.
Walton swapped out Barnhill after 5.1 innings, three hits, four walks and six strikeouts.
In her place, he put in junior Delanie Gourley. Gourley worked 1.2 innings and — despite a shaky situation with two runners on in the top of the seventh — earned her second save of the year.
After the game, Walton touched on the game’s emotional significance, raising awareness for pediatric cancer. The game comes about two years after the death of Heather Braswell, a 17-year-old honorary teammate of the Gators.
“It's funny, we've done a lot of things in regards to cancer research and awareness, between games like this, home run contests and celebrity games and alike,” Walton said.
“However, what we did today was more about bringing the awareness to it all. Our girls have been wearing the sunflowers for years just to show the spirit of not only Heather, but to celebrate the color and the symbol of pediatric cancer awareness. I think we should do this every year. "
Game 3 between Florida and Alabama takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday to determine the winner of the series.
A television broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Matt Brannon mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
Kelsey Stewart bats during Florida's doubleheader sweep against Jacksonville on Feb. 17, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
