With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, Delanie Gourley delivered her pitch.
The senior from Lakeside, California, already had two strikes on Fordham’s Chelsea Skrepenak.
Skrepenak fell for the pitch, swinging and missing the ball as it landed in Janell Wheaton’s glove.
It was a strike three that secured Gourley’s fifth strikeout in a row, and her ninth overall, in Florida’s 4-0 victory over Fordham in the Citrus Classic, held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando on Friday.
This was the third meeting between Florida and Fordham, and the Gators have now outscored the Rams 18-5.
The second game of the day featured veteran pitching on both teams. Gourley allowed just one hit in the game, good for Florida’s fifth one-hitter of the season.
Meanwhile, Fordham senior Lauren Quense had four strikeouts on the day and didn’t allow any scoring by the Gators until the sixth inning.
With the game scoreless in the sixth, the run by Florida was catalyzed with an RBI single by junior Kayli Kvistad, which brought home fellow junior Nicole DeWitt to gain the 1-0 lead. It followed with a single by freshman Jaimie Hoover, sending runners to second and third. The final punch came from freshman Jordan Roberts, who, with two outs, rocketed a ball over left center field for a three run homer.
For Roberts, it was her second home-run on the season.
And for a game that wasn’t characterized with much offense, Florida still ended the game with five hits.
It was the pitching duo of junior Aleshia Ocasio and sophomore Kelly Barnhill that clinched the win for Florida in their first game of the day against the Syracuse Orange, 2-0.
Barnhill threw six strikeouts straight, and combined, the two women had nine strikeouts.
Scoring by the Gators first occurred in the third inning.
After both sophomore Amanda Lorenz and Kvistad were walked, it was Hoover who came through with a RBI double to center field, putting the Gators up 1-0.
Florida didn’t see any more scoring until the fifth inning.
With Hoover and Roberts and base, it was redshirt-freshman Sophia Reynoso’s turn to deliver.
And that she did, sending a ball to center field and clinching the RBI single.
Reynoso had two hits in the game, and now has 12 hits through 13 games.
Sophomore Alex Voss, Ocasio and Hoover also contributed a hit in the win.
Florida (12-1) will first face Liberty University at 11:15 a.m. followed by Elon University in tomorrow’s games.
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @camundson_
Delanie Gourley pitches during Florida's 14-10 loss to LSU on March 14, 2015, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
