The Florida Gators softball team, which was the Southeastern Conference preseason favorite, showed out Friday night.
Florida graduate student Charla Echols, redshirt junior Skylar Wallace and sophomore Kendra Falby put their skills on display as they continued to score one after another throughout the night.
The No. 4 Gators (1-0) opened the 2023 season with an 11-2 win against the Boston Terriers (0-1) in Tampa at the USF-Rawlings Invitational.
UF has only met the Terriers on the diamond on three previous occasions. Its most recent game came in 2019 when Florida defeated BU 3-0 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regionals. Florida is 2-1 against Boston.
The Gators starting lineup for the game included Falby, Echols, and Wallace, who appeared in the 2022 Women’s College World Series.
Senior left-handed pitcher Rylee Trlicek was in control for the Gators. She struck out multiple Terriers in the first inning on just 10 pitches.
Falby was up to bat first for the Gators and hit a foul ball on her first swing. She singled and advanced to second base due to a throwing error by Boston.
Wallace grounded out to first base, which allowed Falby to advance to third base. Echols drove the ball deep into center field on the next at-bat. The Gators led 1-0 after the first inning.
Trlicek zipped the ball for a strike at the top of the second inning and continuously forced the Terriers into groundouts. Boston graduate student Nicole Amodio grounded out to shortstop, which advanced graduate student Emily Grant to second base. Freshman Brooke Deppiesse reached on a defensive throwing error from Echols, advancing Grant to third.
Junior Lauren Nett reached on a fielder's choice, and Deppiesse was out on second. The Terriers tied the game at one run each after an unearned run in the top half of the frame by Grant.
Gators sophomore Sam Roe singled down the right field line of the stadium where she made her collegiate debut in 2022. Florida junior Avery Goelz reached on a fielder's choice, and Roe was out on second. Senior Sarah Longley walked on the next at-bat to advance Goelz to second.
Kistler singled to center field to load the bases. Falby stood up to bat and singled her hit up the middle for two runs batted in.
Echols was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring Kistler home, and the Gators got out to a three-run lead. Sophomore Reagan Walsh reached second on a fielding error by the right fielder and brought Wallace and Goddard home.
Roe hit a two-RBI single to right field to bring in Walsh and Echols. Florida notched seven runs in the second inning and led 8-1 at the end of the second inning.
At the top of the third inning, Trlicek and the UF defense continued to work efficiently to hold the frame. In the bottom of the third Falby struck out, while Kistler stole second. Goddard reached on a fielder's choice, and Kistler was out at third to end the inning.
The Gators’ defense didn’t allow the Terriers to score at the top of the fourth inning. Wallace extended Florida’s lead to 9-1 with the first home run of UF’s season over the left center wall. Roe followed Wallace up with a two-run homer of her own to left field.
Boston junior Lauren Keleher singled to left field. Junior Kate Pryor scored to give the Terriers their last run of the game.
The Gators dispatched Boston, 11-2, to finish their first game of the season.
The USF-Rawlings Invitational continues Saturday with a doubleheader. Florida plays Boston College at 11:30 a.m. and Illinois State at 2 p.m.
Contact Alyssa Britton-Harr at abritton-harr@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @abrittonharr.
Alyssa Britton-Harr is a second-year journalism major and a sports reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spending time with her friends.
