Florida Gators
Cal Poly Pomona
No. 1 Florida Beats No. 2 Oregon, Cal Poly to Sweep Friday Doubleheader
Saturday, February 28, 2015 | Softball
San Diego – The No. 1-ranked University of Florida softball team picked up two wins on Friday at the San Diego Classic I, defeating No. 2 Oregon in the first game by a 3-0 score and earning a 6-1 victory over Cal Poly in Game 2. Pitching set the tone for the Gators, as a masterful performance from Delanie Gourley and a crisp combined effort from Lauren Haeger and Aleshia Ocasio keyed the doubleheader sweep.
The showdown between the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 teams was a pitchers' duel between southpaws Gourley and Cheridan Hawkins. Florida started the bottom of the third inning with back-to-back doubles by Kathlyn Medina and Kelsey Stewart, and the Gators got on the board when the junior scored on a wild pitch to Haeger.
The Orange and Blue ran their lead to 3-0 in the sixth. Haeger reached on a two-base error to lead off before an RBI single to left by Bailey Castro that plated pinch-runner Jessica Damico. Justine McLean came in to run for Castro, moving up on a sacrifice bunt by Taylore Fuller before scoring on a throwing error by the Duck catcher.
Pitching near her hometown of Lakeside, Calif., Gourley dominated throughout the contest, allowing just five baserunners. The Ducks never had a runner advance past second base as Florida's southpaw gave up only two hits, a fifth-inning double and a sixth-inning single.
The Gators broke a scoreless tie in the third inning of Game 2 when Briana Little led off with a hit-by-pitch and scored three batters later on an RBI single through the right side by Stewart. Florida's momentum continued in the following frame, when one-out singles by Haeger and Castro set up a three-run home run to left by Fuller to raise the lead to 4-0.
The Mustangs had a leadoff walk in the fourth, and produced their first run of the game three batters later on a double down the right-field line. Kirsti Merritt led off the fifth with a double to center, and Fuller extended the UF advantage to 6-1 with her second home run of the game, a two-run shot to left-center.
Ocasio entered in the circle in the fifth, tossing three scoreless innings to save the 6-1 win for Haeger and complete Florida's doubleheader sweep.
STARS OF THE GAMES
· Delanie Gourley: Pitching near her hometown of Lakeside, Calif., the second-year lefty tossed a two-hit shutout against the No. 2 team in the country.
· Kelsey Stewart: Florida's junior infielder doubled and scored the game-winning run against the Ducks, and then recorded her sixth two-hit game of the season in the win over Cal Poly.
· Taylore Fuller: The junior from Trenton, Fla., hit her fourth and fifth home runs of the year against Cal Poly. The blasts pulled her into second on the team (Haeger – 6).
NOTABLES
· Merritt was hit by a pitch in the Oregon game, marking the 12th time the junior has been plunked this season. Her dozen HBPs are more than double the next closest Gators (Castro, Fuller – 5).
· Little took one for the team in the sixth inning against the Ducks, marking her 33rd career HBP. This sets a career record for Florida.
· The Oregon game marked the second time this season that Florida's game-winning run has scored on a wild pitch (also: Feb. 7 vs. Michigan).
· With her three-run home run against Cal Poly, Fuller now has solo, two-run and three-run home runs and a grand slam this season.
· Fuller's two-home run game was the Gators' second multi-homer contest of the season (Little, 3 vs. Mercer, Feb. 22 – Game 1).
· The Trenton, Fla., native had five RBI against the Mustangs, marking UF's third five-RBI game this year (last: Little – 9 RBI vs. Mercer, Feb. 22 – Game 1).
· Stewart's third-inning single against the Mustangs marked her third game-winning RBI of the season, pulling into a tie with Castro for second on the team.
· Ocasio worked three scoreless innings and earned her second save of the season in Game 2.
WALTON'S WORDS
On Gourley's performance against Oregon:
“She was really good. Having her come home and pitch a game against a ranked opponent – none the less a ranked opponent in the top-five – she really had good stuff today. [She was] pitching to all points of the plate [and her] changeup was good. [The] defense behind her was good. I thought she really did a good job.”
On Fuller's two-homer game against Cal Poly:
“She's hot and cold. Just when you think you've got her and she pops one up in her first at-bat, she comes back with a three-run homer. You change up the location – instead of throwing her in or up and in, you go down and away – and she golfs one to straightaway center or left-center. That's a sign of a good hitter, somebody who understands that you're not going to get a hit every at-bat, but takes what they give you.”
On tomorrow's games against San Diego and UC Davis:
“I really thought Aleshia Ocasio came in and did a good job in relief of Lauren. Lauren pitched well. One run today against two teams in 14 innings – [I'm] really proud of the way our pitching staff is pitching [and] the way our defense is playing behind them. I really feel confident when we take the field that that's keeping us in every game and giving us an opportunity to win.”
– Florida Head Coach Tim Walton
UP NEXT
Florida continues play at the San Diego Classic I on Saturday with matchups against UC Davis (noon ET) and San Diego (5 p.m. ET). WGGG (1230-AM) will have the radio broadcast with Corey Brooks (play-by-play) and Megan Bush (analysis) on the call. In addition, live stats links for select games can be found on the schedule page on GatorZone.com.
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