Runners on base and designated player Kendyl Lindaman at the plate in a tight game.
It has become a common scenario for the Gators this season and usually ends the same way, like softball’s version of a re-run.
Lindaman clobbered Texas A&M pitcher Kendall Potts’ first pitch, and center fielder Kelbi Fortenberry could only watch as the ball sailed over the right-field fence for a three-run home run in the fifth inning.
It broke a 2-2 tie and gave the Gators the lead for good, as they put away the Aggies 8-3 to clinch their first series win on the road in SEC play. Florida will go for its second-consecutive sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Freshman Elizabeth Hightower pitched five innings and struck out one. She also gave up five hits and three walks for two earned runs in her third win this season.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth. Utility player Amanda Lorenz led off the inning with a single, and she crossed home plate on a Lindaman RBI double for a 1-0 lead. Later that inning, shortstop Sophia Reynoso lined Potts’ 1-0 pitch at diving third baseman Baylee Klingler.
The ball bounced off Klingler’s glove and into foul territory. Freshman Amanda Beane, pinch-running for Lindaman, scored from second to double Florida’s lead.
UF didn’t lead for long. The Aggies’ first two batters in the bottom of the fourth reached base, and shortstop Riley Sartain plated both of them with a single up the middle to tie the game.
Florida’s offense continued to produce in the top of the fifth inning with Lindaman’s home run for a 5-2 lead. UF tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth with a solo home run from first baseman Jordan Matthews, an RBI single by third baseman Hannah Sipos and a sac fly by Lorenz.
Sophomore Natalie Lugo replaced Hightower after the freshman allowed a single and a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Texas A&M loaded the bases after an error by Sipos, but Lugo limited the damage to just one run to make it 8-3 before ending the inning.
Lugo then forced three straight ground outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the game.
Follow Brendan Farrell on Twtter @Bfarrell727 and contact him at bfarrell@alligator.org.
Kendyl Lindaman's three-run home run in the fifth inning helped the Gators' softball team to an 8-3 win over Texas A&M Saturday in College Stadium.
