Softball Downs Santa Fe, 3-0, in First Fall Game
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 | Softball
The University of Florida softball team hosted Santa Fe College in the first fall game Wednesday night, tallying a 3-0 win to start the new season. Freshman Ensley Gammel (Bakersfield, Calif.) pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing six hits and striking out five in her Orange and Blue debut.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when the Gators picked up three runs. After a 1-2-3 top half of the inning, junior Aja Paculba (Wildomar, Calif.) recorded UF's first hit on a single through the right side with one down. Classmate Tiffany DeFelice (Coral Springs, Fla.) kept the hits going as she smoked a double to left center, advancing Paculba to third, who was off on the pitch. Junior Megan Bush (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) then drew a walk to load the bases. Senior Corrie Brooks (Christmas, Fla.) and freshman Kelsey Horton (Valrico, Fla.) also earned free passes to tally the first runs of the game. Gammel took her first turn at the plate and laced a single to the first baseman, scoring Bush for the Gators' third run.
Gammel returned to the mound for her seventh inning. With one down, Britany Doty drew a walk and Mandi Brown came in to pinch run. Colesa Lazar nailed a double to deep left center, but sophomore centerfielder Michelle Moultrie (Jacksonville, Fla.) quickly retrieved the ball and relayed it to freshman shortstop Brittany Walker (Tomball, Texas), who gunned down Brown at the plate to keep the Saints off the board. Gammel ended the game on a swinging strikeout.
The Saints threatened in the second by putting on baserunners. Maria Gilreath drew a two-out walk and Colesa Lazar hit a chopper over third baseman Brooks's head. Runners advanced to second and third as the ball rolled into shallow left field. Lawna Hunter chopped one up the middle, but Lazar was called out for runner interference to end the inning.
The Gators put two on in the bottom of the inning, but could not capitalize. Sophomore Shaunice Harris (Moreno Valley, Calif.) reached on an error by the shortstop and moved to second when Moultrie was hit by a pitch. Pitcher Colena Lazar got Walker swinging and Paculba to fly out to centerfield to end the inning.
Freshman Brittany Schutte (Fountain Valley, Calif.) had a homerun robbed in the fourth when she hit one to the right field wall. Colesa Lazar reached up and made the snag with her glove over the wall to keep the Gators scoreless.
The Gators return to fall action on Friday, Oct. 23 as they take on Seminole College in a doubleheader slated to begin at 4 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
