Florida sophomore second baseman Reagan Walsh singled to left field. Graduate student utility player Pal Egan homered to center field in the bottom of the third to bring Walsh home.
Egan’s homer gave the offense a boost of confidence, which resulted in three scored runs in the fourth inning.
The home run marked Egan’s first home run in Southeastern Conference play. She always wanted to play for Florida, she said, and she relished the moment.
“It's such a surreal feeling to be able to play with girls that are wearing the Gator jersey, and the fact that I get to wear one is super exciting,” Egan said. “I have always wanted to play for coach Walton.”
“Egan has grit, flare, and fire to her, and our team really needed that,” Florida head coach Tim Walton said. “She’s now hit a home run against an SEC team, and she’s doing some great things for the team.”
The No. 15 Florida Gators (28-9, 6-5 SEC) defeated the No. 19 Auburn Tigers (28-12, 6-5 SEC) 6-3 Friday night in Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Florida graduate student Elizabeth Hightower started in the circle for the Gators. Hightower walked Tigers sophomore infielder Nelia Peralta and then struck out senior infielder Lindsey Garcia to begin the half.
Auburn junior infielder Denver Bryant singled to center field and advanced Peralta to second, but sophomore utility player Icess Tresvik struck out to end the top of the first.
Gators junior shortstop Skylar Wallace doubled to left field. She moved to third after sophomore infielder Kendra Falby hit a sacrifice bunt.
Graduate student third baseman Charla Echols singled to second base and brought Wallace home to give Florida its first run of the game. Tigers sophomore right-handed pitcher Annabelle Widra walked Walsh, which advanced Echols to second.
Sophomore catcher Sam Roe singled to right field to load the bases, but a fly out to center field by junior outfielder Katie Kistler ended the first inning.
Hightower and the Gators’ defense kept Auburn scoreless through the second after a defensive play by Wallace retired a runner at second base to end the top half.
Wallace reached first after she was hit by a pitch from Widra. Falby grounded out to Widra, who made the throw to first to end the bottom of the second.
Peralta homered to left field on the first pitch she saw to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the third. Walsh singled to left field and was brought home by Egan after she homered to center field to put Florida’ back in front, 3-1.
The Gators didn’t allow any runs to be scored by Auburn in the top half of the fourth.
UF junior first baseman Avery Goelz singled through the left side. Tigers freshman right-handed pitcher Emmah Rolfe replaced Widra in the bottom of the fourth. Rolfe walked Wallace to start her outing.
Rolfe walked Falby to load the bases. Echols brought home both Wallace and Goelz after she singled up the middle to push the Gators’ lead to 5-1.
Walsh lined out to right field down the left-field line, and Falby scored to up UF’s lead to 6-1 to end the bottom of the fourth.
Peralta homered to left center and brought home sophomore infielder Rose Roach to cut the deficit to three in the top of the fifth. Rolfe and the Tigers’ defense didn’t allow any runs to be scored by Florida to end the inning.
Senior left-handed pitcher Rylee Trlicek replaced Hightower in the top of the sixth, and the Gators worked around a single to keep the Tigers scoreless through the sixth inning. Florida failed to score any runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Gators kept the Tigers scoreless in the top of the seventh and ended the game with a 6-3 victory.
UF will finish the series against Auburn at 1 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Contact Alyssa Britton-Harr 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.
