The first five games the Gators played in the Florida Lipton Invitational were ordinary. The Florida offense and pitching staff dominated the competition, and UF picked up five easy victories. However, the last game of the tourney took a different course.
For the first five innings of the Gators’ game against Charleston Southern on Sunday, starting pitchers Hannah Rogers and Jennifer Giles kept the game scoreless.
After allowing a run in the top of the sixth inning to break the tie, Rogers let a chance to escape the inning relatively unscathed slip away.
With runners on second and third and two outs, Charleston Southern catcher Melanie Stickney hit a soft groundball to Rogers. Rogers misplayed the ball, and it sputtered under her glove. Shortstop Katie Medina tried to throw the runner out, but her throw sailed past the first baseman Lauren Haeger’s glove. When the mayhem ended, the Gators trailed 3-0.
“A bad, in-between hop in and around Hannah’s glove, then Katie sidearm throws it, and then we had a bad stretch at first base,” coach Tim Walton said. “In all essence, it was probably three mistakes all in one play.”
But the game soon became much stranger.
In the bottom half of the inning, Lauren Haeger drew a walk and Kelsey Horton followed with a single. Taylor Schwarz pinch ran for Haeger, and Briana Little came in to hit for Ensley Gammel. Little’s at-bat proved crucial despite not even taking the bat off her shoulder.
During Little’s at-bat, third-base umpire Mike Finch noticed a hop in Giles’ delivery. Finch called Giles for an illegal pitch, advancing Schwarz to third and Horton to second.
On a 3-0 count, Giles hit Little with a pitch. Normally, this would load the bases, but Finch signaled a second illegal pitch, scoring Schwarz and moving Horton to third.
With CSU coach Shane Winkler arguing the call, Giles stepped back into the circle to face pinch hitter Taylore Fuller. For the third time in the inning, Giles was called for an illegal pitch. Schwarz crossed home, and the momentum swung in Florida’s favor.
“We noticed that she was illegal the whole game,” Haeger said. “I don’t know how it was brought to [Finch’s] attention, but I’m glad it was.”
The two runs on illegal pitches set the stage for Haeger to come up big for Florida in the seventh inning.
After Rogers pitched a scoreless seventh, the Gators had the top of the lineup due to hit in the bottom half of the inning.
Freshman Kelsey Stewart led off the inning with a one-pitch groundout to the pitcher. Third baseman Stephanie Tofft followed Stewart with a one-pitch groundout of her own.
Haeger stepped into the batter’s box. After taking one pitch for a ball, she launched a high fly ball that cleared the wall in right center.
“My job is not just to get on base; my job is to hit a home run in that situation,” Haeger said.
Bailey Castro came up next, and she flew out. But with a tiebreaker rule in effect, the Gators came to bat in the eighth inning with Castro on second base.
Horton bunted Castro over to third, bringing up center fielder Jessica Damico, who started for an injured Kirsti Merritt.
On a 3-1 count, Damico lofted a fly ball to deep center, which was misplayed by Charleston Southern’s Courtney Konyk. The ball dropped in, scoring Castro as Damico reached third with a game-winning triple.
“We grew from having our backs against the wall with the last out of the last inning of the game to lose the game, and then finding a way to hold them,” Walton said.
“Then we grew again with the perfect execution from two batters.”
Lauren Haeger (17) runs home after hitting a game-tying homer during Florida’s 4-3 victory against Charleston Southern on Feb. 17 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
