Florida’s game against Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford, Miss., was moved due to rain. On Wednesday, the rain followed the Gators to Gainesville.
No. 3 Florida (36-3, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) picked up a 2-1 win in a rain-shortened, five-inning game against UCF (18-21, 1-11 Conference USA).
The game ended in confusion as rain poured down on Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in the middle of a Florida rally. The Gators had scored four in the inning to jump out to a 6-1 lead. But with one out, the rain started coming down heavily and the game was called minutes later.
“We were waiting on the bases for about like 5 minutes in the rain, and we didn’t know what was going to go on,” first baseman Taylor Schwarz said. “Then everyone in the dugout started running for the tarp, so we kind of knew it was over.”
Coach Tim Walton added: “With the halted game rule, it always reverts back to the last completed inning. So I’m not confused as far as the outcome of it, just obviously hate to put that much time into a game and have it shortened by weather.”
Florida’s two official runs were scored in the first two innings.
In the first, Kelsey Stewart and Lauren Haeger drew walks and Briana Little got on base due to catcher’s interference, loading the bases for Jessica Damico. Damico drew one of Florida’s three RBI walks, but it was the only one that would count.
In the second inning, Kirsti Merritt drew a one-out walk and Stewart doubled, sending Merritt to third base. Home-plate umpire Diane Kendall called an illegal pitch on UCF hurler Mackenzie Audas, bringing Merritt in for the game’s second run.
“That’s been our M.O. We manufacture a lot of runs,” Walton said. “Whether it’s by hit, whether it’s by walk, hit by pitch. We had a lot of different ways we were doing things.”
Audas did not let the Gators take the bats off their shoulders often. Of the 33 batters the sophomore right-hander faced, 11 struck out and 12 drew walks. The first nine Florida batters did not put the ball in play.
Even in the four-run sixth inning that does not officially count, the Gators did not record a hit. All four runs came on four walks, two hit-by-pitches and an error.
“I think that’s something that’s funny about this team,” Schwarz said. “We always find a way to get it done. Even though we had two hits, we still had a lot of walks and we still had a lot of good at-bats.”
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Freshman infielder Kelsey Stewart (7) throws a ball to freshman first baseman Taylor Schwarz (49) to end an inning during Florida’s 9-1 win over UNC Wilmington on Feb. 17 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Stewart is one of Florida's key underclassmen who have fueled the team's success this season.
