Softball Takes Doubleheader from North Georgia
Saturday, October 18, 2008 | Softball
The University of Florida softball team won its second doubleheader of the fall season, beating North Georgia College and State University, 2-0, and 8-1.
Pitchers sophomore Stephanie Brombacher (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and senior Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) were stellar for the Gators, each pitching seven innings over two games. Brombacher pitched six scoreless innings in the 2-0 shutout, allowing only two hits, striking out four and walking one. In the second game, Nelson recorded six innings of work, giving up five hits, one unearned run and striking out 10. She did not issue a walk.
The first game turned out to be a pitching battle, as the Gators did not tally runs until the bottom of the seventh inning. The pitching of Trish Snider slowed Florida down, as she pitched three hitless innings. Sophomore Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) registered the first hit for the Gators in the bottom of the fourth on a single to right field, but the inning came to an end before she could reach home.
The Gators got out of a jam in the sixth, as Stephanie Farmakis reached first on an error by sophomore short stop Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) with two outs. Laura Voyles doubled to left field to move Farmakis to third, but Brombacher got Kasey Knight to ground out to end the scoring threat.
Nelson relieved Brombacher in the top of the seventh and struck out the side on only 13 pitches. With the game still scoreless, junior Francesca Enea (Woodland Hills, Calif.) started things off with a double to center, as the Saints centerfielder dropped a tough catch. Senior Danyell Hines (Bryan, Texas) pinch ran and moved to third on a single by sophomore Kelsey Bruder (Corona, Calif.). Bush was intentionally walked to load the bases. After a line out and a pickoff of Hines at third, sophomore Kristine Priebe (Moorpark, Calif.) stepped in as a pinch hitter and delivered a double to right center to score Bruder and Bush for the win.
In game two, the Gators scored early and often. Paculba doubled as the first Florida hitter and with one out, senior Ali Gardiner (Waccabuc, N.Y.) drove her in with a hard grounder through the left side. Bruder then launched one out of the park to make it a three-run game in the bottom of the first.
The Saints recorded their first run of the day in the second inning. Jessica Skeels doubled down the right field line. Katherine Martin singled, followed by Natasha Willemse's hard ground ball back to Nelson. Nelson made an error on the throw to first, scoring Skeels and advancing both runners. Hilary Cox then grounded out and on the same play, Gardiner threw to Paculba to try to pickoff Willemse. Paculba made a heads up move, relaying to senior catcher Kristina Hilberth (Dunedin, Fla.) to tag out Martin as she tried for home, ending the inning and not allowing a second run to score.
In the top of the fifth, Nelson struck out the side to preserve the 3-1 lead and the Gators went to work in the bottom of the inning. Senior Brooke Johnson (Lakeland, Fla.) singled through the left side to get on base and move pinch runner Ami Austin (Ormond Beach, Fla.) to second. Paculba then recorded a fielder's choice, as Austin was tagged out at third. Hines grounded out to second for the second out, but advanced the runners to second and third. Gardiner then unloaded a double to the left field wall to score Johnson and Paculba on a two-RBI hit. Freshman Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) pinch ran for Gardiner and Enea hit a single back to the pitcher to score Moultrie and give UF a 6-1 advantage.
The Gators added two more to their score in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to their freshmen newcomers. Moultrie tripled to deep center with no outs, and then classmate Alicia Sisco (Cooper City, Fla.) hit a fly ball to center that dropped, scoring Moultrie. Bruder singled, followed by a ground out by senior Le-Net Franklin (Belton, Texas) to move the runners to second and third. Freshman Lauren Heil (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) doubled to drive in Sisco.
Gardiner went 2-for-3 in the second game with three RBI and one run. Bruder batted .500 (2-for-4) with two RBI. Brombacher pitched the seventh inning, striking out two.
Florida returns to action on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. for a fall doubleheader against Santa Fe College at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
