BOX SCORE (vs. NC State)
BOX SCORE (vs. Iowa)
Gainesville, Fla. – The No. 1-ranked University of Florida softball team earned two wins on Saturday to remain perfect on the season. The Gators (9-0) defeated NC State, 5-3, in the first game before posting an 8-0 victory over Iowa in Game 2. The win over the Wolfpack marked the 500th win for UF Head Coach Tim Walton during his nine-plus seasons in Gainesville.
Displaying discipline at the plate, Florida loaded the bases in the first inning against the Wolfpack on walks to Kelsey Stewart and Lauren Haeger and a hit-by-pitch by Kirsti Merritt. Bailey Castro and Taylore Fuller then drew bases-loaded walks to give the home team a 2-0 lead without the benefit of a hit.
The Gators extended their lead to three runs in the fourth inning. Justine McLean had an infield single to start the frame, moving up on a walk to Stewart and a sacrifice bunt by DeWitt. Merritt laid down a bunt on the next play, and the McLean beat the throw home to make the score 3-0 in favor of Florida. NC State got a run back in the fifth on a UF error that followed a two-out double.
The Wolfpack cut the Gator lead to 3-2 on a solo home run in the sixth. Stewart led off the home half with a double down the left-field line, and Nicole DeWitt walked to set up a two-run single through the middle by Haeger, pushing Florida's advantage back to three runs at 5-2.
After pinch-running for Haeger in the previous inning, Aleshia Ocasio went to the circle in the seventh. Another solo home run reduced UF's lead to two, but the freshman recovered with three straight strikeouts to save the win for Delanie Gourley (2-0), who allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits over six innings with four walks and 11 strikeouts.
Florida jumped out to an early lead again in the Iowa game as Haeger walked and advanced on an illegal pitch before Castro homered to left-center to put Florida ahead 2-0. During a five-run third, the Arizona native drew a leadoff walk and scored on a single up the middle by Kayli Kvistad. Castro followed Haeger with a four-pitch free pass, coming around to score on Fuller's base hit down the left-field line to increase the Gators lead to 4-0. Aubree Munro then launched a three-run home run off the left-field scoreboard, plating Kvistad and Fuller.
Bailey Castro hit her third home run of the year against Iowa. (Photo: Jim Burgess)
The momentum continued for the Orange and Blue in the fourth, when Haeger hit a one-out solo homer to straightaway center, increasing the Gator lead to 8-0. The senior (3-0) finished her own shutout in the fifth, yielding two hits and no walks with eight strikeouts.
STARS OF THE GAMES
- Delanie Gourley: The sophomore allowed just two runs (one earned) on two hits over six innings to earn her second win of the year.
- Bailey Castro: The senior outfielder hit her team-leading third home run in the Iowa game; this continues her significant increase in production from last year, when her third home run came on March 18.
- Lauren Haeger: The right-hander pitched a two-hit shutout against Iowa, adding her second home run of the season in the fifth inning to secure the mercy-rule victory.
NOTABLES
- Walton holds a 501-114 (.815) record at Florida (2006-present), and a 624-178 (.778) mark in 13 seasons as a head coach overall.
- Florida improved to 15-3 all-time on Valentine's Day.
- UF batters were hit by six pitches on the day. Florida entered Saturday with nine HBPs in its previous seven games to start the season.
- Gourley tied a career high with 11 strikeouts against NC State (also: March 2, 2014, vs. Radford).
- The Wolfpack put just four balls in play against the Gator southpaw.
- During the first two games against NC State this weekend, the Gators have totaled sixruns on just eight hits.
- Merritt entered the day with two hit-by-pitches on the season; she doubled that total when she was hit twice in the NC State game, taking the team lead from Nicole DeWitt (3).
- Ocasio earned her first career save in the first game.
WALTON'S WORDS
On how winning close games like the two so far against NC State can benefit the team later in the season:
“You can't produce those types of moments in practice. It's important for the girls to gain confidence in those situations. We did a good job scoring runs late, [and] manufactured some runs with good execution. Overall, it says a lot about being able to be resilient. If you can be tough and keep playing, good things will happen.”
On what changed from Friday that allowed UF to improve on offense:
“I think the only adjustment made is that there was a different pitcher in the game. Lauren got a good hit off Weiman in the sixth inning. She's a good pitcher, and her statistics back that up during her career. She's really good, and she did a good job against our hitters, not only for six innings yesterday, but today as well. She's tough.”
On what his 500th win at UF demonstrates about the Gator program:
“That's the most important part, is the program we've built here. Winning is an expectation, and when you come to Florida, you're expected to do things right. You're expected to not only perform, but to do things in the right way within the system. We've had a lot of great players, we've recruited a lot of great players, and we've developed a lot of great players. The milestone, more than anything, is about the program we've built and how important that program is.”
– Florida Head Coach Tim Walton
FLORIDA PLAYER QUOTES
Senior Outfielder Bailey Castro
On her two-run homer against Iowa:
“It was just the first inning and I wanted to get some runs on the board for Lauren. She threw me a pitch that I liked and I took a good swing.”
On the importance of getting out to an early lead:
“I think that's big. I think jumping on a team early is crucial for the pitching so they can get a little more relaxed in the circle.”
Senior Pitcher/First Baseman Lauren Haeger
On the Gators' offense against Iowa:
“I knew we were going to hit. I got up there seeing the ball great – everyone was seeing the ball great. I had a lot of confidence we were going to score a lot of runs.”
On her home run against Iowa:
“It was good. It's baby steps, but I was just going to go up there and swing hard as I could because I had already had a couple of at-bats and sort of felt [the Hawkeye pitcher] out.”
Freshman Utility Player Kayli Kvistad
On Coach Walton:
“He's helped me a lot. He's always there to pick me up if I have a bad swing or if I have a bad game.”
On her success at the plate despite having limited at-bats:'
“I've been very comfortable. I work hard in practice and we scrimmage so getting those at-bats in scrimmages helps a lot because we have a great pitching staff. It's just really helped me in the transition [to college].”
UP NEXT
UF's first home weekend concludes with two games on Sunday: A noon contest against Iowa, followed by the finale against NC State at approximately 2:30. The Iowa game will air on the SEC Network, with Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Amanda Scarborough (analysis) on the call. WGGG (1230-AM) will have the radio broadcast for both games with Corey Brooks (play-by-play) and Megan Bush (analysis). In addition, live stats links can be found on the schedule page on GatorZone.com.
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