Taylore Fuller’s grand slam and two other home runs weren’t enough.
Down 10-6 with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Fuller cranked a game-tying grand slam that tied the game at 10 and sent the 1,943 fans at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium into a frenzy.
But an inning later, the crowd silenced.
LSU’s Kellsi Kloss responded with a grand slam of her own in the seventh inning that put the game out of reach as No. 3 LSU defeated the No. 1 Gators 14-10 on Saturday, handing Florida its first loss of the season
“That was an amazing game,” Fuller said. “You don’t see many teams come back from 9-0 in the first inning. That just shows our fight.”
The Gators dug themselves into a hole in the first inning.
Starting pitcher Delanie Gourley allowed nine runs off seven hits in the top of the first inning.
Gourley allowed seven hits, four earned runs and struck out five through two innings of work. Fuller, who started at catcher, said every pitcher goes through an inning like that at some point in the season.
“We’d much rather it be now than in the World Series,” Fuller said.
The Gators (28-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) answered back in the bottom half of the inning, gaining some momentum back.
After Lauren Haeger and Bailey Castro reached base via single and walk, Fuller crushed a three-run home run to right-center field that pushed the score to 9-3.
In the bottom half of the third inning, Kelsey Stewart tripled and Kirsti Merritt walked, setting the Gators up for a rally. But Haeger and Castro both popped up and Fuller struck out looking – which frustrated coach Tim Walton.
“With runners in scoring position, our batting average today wasn’t very good and we gotta be better at that, that’s for sure,” Walton said.
The score remained unchanged until a wild fourth inning that featured five hit-by-pitches.
LSU starting pitcher Allie Walljasper drilled the first four Florida hitters she faced to lead off the inning, which allowed one run to score. Stewart then drove in a run with a single to left field, cutting the lead to 9-5.
But Florida’s opportunity to pour on any more runs was squandered when Merritt hit into a 5-2-3 double play and Castro popped out.
Stewart finished the game 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.
“There was never a point where we thought we were gonna lose,” she said. “To me right there, that’s a moral victory.”
LSU (26-1, 1-1 SEC) tacked on a run in the top of the fifth inning when A.J. Andrews ripped an RBI single to right field to pad LSU’s lead to 10-5.
Once again, Florida responded.
Fuller blasted a solo home run to center field that cut the lead to 10-6 in the bottom of the fifth inning. The blast was her second of the game at the time.
But Fuller was hungry for more.
Two walks and a single set Florida up for a big inning. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Fuller pounded a towering, game-tying grand slam to left field.
The junior from Trenton, Florida, finished 3-for-4 with a career-high three home runs and eight RBIs. The three blasts tied Briana Little’s program record for most home runs in a game, which she set in a 20-3 win over Mercer on Feb. 22.
Exactly a year ago, Fuller hit a grand slam against LSU that gave the Gators the lead in the seventh inning. They won the game 7-6 in extra innings.
But her grand slam today couldn’t win the game for the Gators.
In the seventh inning, Aleshia Ocasio allowed back-to-back singles to lead off the frame. She then struck out LSU’s Bailey Landry, allowed a single to Bianka Bell and struck out Sahvanna Jaquish.
Then Kloss stepped to the plate with two outs.
With a 2-2 count, the fans were on their feet hoping for a strikeout. But Kloss sent one over the left-field wall that raised the score 14-10.
Despite the loss, Walton said he was happy with the way the team fought.
“Being down nine runs,” he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team come back and tie a ballgame up from that point.”
With the series tied at one, the Gators and Tigers will square off for the final game of the series Sunday at noon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Walton said he hopes to carry some of this game’s momentum into tomorrow’s contest.
“That was a little emotional game there and you hope you can come back,” he said. “You got a little less than 24 hours to kind of respond, reload yourself and get ready to go.”
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
Taylore Fuller bats during Florida's 8-0 win against Indiana on Feb. 22, 2014 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
