With three balls and two strikes on the board and the score tied 2-2, Kayli Kvistad stepped up to the plate for the sixth time in the series.
She balanced the bat in line with her left shoulder and watched Kentucky pitcher Grace Baalman let one loose from the mound.
She swung at the yellow sphere, sending it through the middle and allowing enough time for teammate Nicole DeWitt to round third base and run home. The hit broke the tie and scored the winning run for the Gators, securing its first walk-off victory of the season.
“I had two strikes on me, so I was just looking for something close to the plate and something I could drive,” Kvistad said.
About 10 seconds later, Kvistad was surrounded by her teammates celebrating the Gators’ 3-2 victory over the Wildcats on Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Florida (21-1, 2-0 SEC) got off to a slow start to open night, neglecting to score their second run of the game until the bottom of the seventh.
Pitcher Aleshia Ocasio recorded her ninth win of the season with 98 pitches against Kentucky (15-5, 0-2 SEC). The senior allowed six hits and struck out 10 total batters.
“We were fighting to the very last pitch, which was very evident, but Kentucky’s a good team and they were battling each at bat,” she said.
In the contest against the Wildcats, the Gators allowed a run for the first time since Feb. 23 when they defeated Illinois State 10-1.
“We never got out heads down to start with, throughout all seven innings,” Ocasio said.
The Gators kept their hits mostly in the infield, with the exceptions of a line drive down left field by Ocasio in the top of the fifth and another deep hit to right field by shortstop Sophia Reynoso in the bottom of the seventh.
Ocasio’s hit gave her a double, putting her in perfect position for a run when Hannah Adams sent a single to second base. Adams’ hit allowed enough time for Ocasio to round third and score the first run for the Gators, tying the score 1-1.
Reynoso’s late-game hit kept the Gators within reach of a comeback after being down 2-1 for three and a half innings.
Her line-drive single to right field put a Gator on base for the first time since the bottom of the fourth.
“We still haven’t leveraged a ball to the outfield,” Walton said. “We just haven’t been able to leverage the swings yet.”
Florida defeated Kentucky on Friday night as well with a 6-0 no-hitter victory led by pitcher Kelly Barnhill. With Saturday’s win, the Gators are up 2-0 in the series heading into Sunday’s final matchup at noon.
Follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari and contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Florida first baseman had three of the Gators' four RBIs against Missouri.
