Arkansas shouldn’t have been surprised.
The No. 23 team in the country, squaring off against No. 2 Florida (33-2), had just allowed a double to sophomore Amanda Lorenz with two outs in the inning. Junior Nicole DeWitt was up next, and with a runner in scoring position, she had a chance to tie the game at one.
Going into the game, DeWitt had 30 hits and 27 RBIs in 34 games this season.
And Sunday afternoon held more of the same.
The Garden Grove, California, native smacked a double out to left field, sending home Lorenz to tie the game.
The Gators then earned five runs in the same inning to capture a 6-1 win and the sweep of the Razorbacks on Sunday afternoon in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The offense seen in that fifth inning was the kind of answer UF was looking for the entire game. Florida had only converted four hits in the previous four innings. And after a throwing error to first base by sophomore pitcher Kelly Barnhill, the Gators found themselves down 1-0 going into the latter half of the game.
After the tying RBI double from DeWitt, junior Kayli Kvistad blasted a two-run homer over left field to break the tie, her fourth home run of the season.
And even with two outs hanging over their heads, the Gators still produced two more runs in the inning to extend their lead.
Following a double from freshman Jaimie Hoover and an Arkansas pitching change from Autumn Storms, new pitcher Caroline Hedgcock immediately allowed two consecutive walks. Brooke Clemens stepped up to bat with the bases loaded and hit a single to right field to bring home the final run of the fifth inning.
Florida totaled 13 hits in the game and has now recorded 10 hits or more in three of its last four matchups. It also went 6-for-13 on the day when batting with two outs.
In comparison, Arkansas went 1-for-8.
Florida’s defense was tough to hit on with two outs, and it all started with Barnhill. She had seven strikeouts through five innings and allowed one hit in the win, a double to right field. She has yet to lose a game for Florida this season and boasts the lowest ERA in the country (0.20).
Senior Delanie Gourley relieved her in the sixth inning and struck out a pair. UF’s pitching staff has an ERA of 0.78, the lowest in the nation, and only allowed two hits on Sunday.
Florida will hope to continue its hot pitching when it hosts North Florida on Wednesday in Gainesville.
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Kelly Barnhill pitches during UF's doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville on Feb. 27, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
