After a five-and-a-half-hour, 15-inning win against Nebraska on Saturday night, Florida had little left to give in its next contest.
Backed by a strong showing from pitcher Blaire Luna and timely hits from its lineup, No. 4 seed Texas (51-9) coasted to a 3-0 win over second-seeded Florida (58-9) on Sunday in Oklahoma City, eliminating the Gators from the Women’s College World Series.
“We came out with a lot of energy, more than I expected,” junior Hannah Rogers said. “Everyone came out ready to fight. I mean, we just were struggling a little bit at the plate. But they did a great job today, Texas did.”
Offense was hard to come by for UF as Blaire Luna controlled the strike zone from start to finish.
She tossed 141 pitches while frustrating a Gators offense that could do little with its one single.
Luna struck out 14 batters in seven innings en route to her 13th shutout of the season. The Longhorns senior found similar success in Texas’ 6-3 win against Arizona State on Thursday, striking out 10 Sun Devils and allowing only four hits.
“She threw 60 balls,” coach Tim Walton said. “How many strikes did we swing at? And how many good pitches did we take? That’s the M.O. of a good pitcher.”
Texas’ bats that put the contest out of Florida’s reach midway through the elimination game.
With one out in a scoreless affair, Texas’ designated hitter Kim Bruins belted a three-RBI home run over the left-field wall to put the Longhorns ahead 3-0 in the third. Rogers was unable to work ahead early in the count versus a Texas’ lineup loaded with power and speed. She surrendered the homer after falling behind in the count 2-1.
In the bottom half of the inning, Florida found itself in a position to respond to Texas’ offensive surge.
Luna hit both Briana Little and Kirsti Merritt with pitches, putting runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the third. Luna gave Florida another free pass in the next at-bat, walking Stephanie Tofft to load the bases and bringing up Lauren Haeger.
Haeger – with 31 extra-base hits on the season – failed to bring runners home, striking out on a pitch high and out of the strike zone. It would be the last time Florida reached third for the remainder of the game.
“The pitchers were really, really, really good this weekend,” Haeger said. “You come here and the pitcher, it’s their ace every single time you face them.”
The Gators were shut out in their season finale for the second consecutive year. But not all was lost.
“If you had asked me at the beginning of the season, ‘Could this team do this?’ my answer would have been no very early and easy,” Walton said. “The team just got better … and worked hard, got stronger.”
Contact Chuck Kingsbury at ckingsbury@alligator.org.
Editor’s note: This story was edited and re-published for the Welcome Back Edition of the Alligator on August 21.
Sophomore Lauren Haeger swings and misses against FSU at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on March 27. Haeger went 0 for 2 in Florida’s 3-0 loss to Texas in the Women’s College World Series on Sunday.
Freshman center fielder Kirsti Merritt misses the ball in the fourth inning in Florida's 9-8 win against Nebraska in the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City on Saturday night. Merritt and UF were eliminated by Texas 3-0 on Sunday.
