BOX SCORE
Starkville, Miss. – The No. 3-ranked University of Florida softball team fell to Mississippi State by a 5-3 score on Sunday after winning the first two games of the three-game series. The Orange and Blue jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and ran the advantage to three runs before Mississippi State scored five times in the seventh to win the game.
After singles by Kelsey Stewart and Kirsti Merritt and an MSU throwing error, the Gators had runners at the corners with no outs in the first. Florida then executed a double steal as the infielder came home with the first run of the game. Merritt later advanced to third on a groundout before scoring on an illegal pitch to extend the UF lead to 2-0.
Neither team scored for five full innings following the first. The Orange and Blue then added a third run in the seventh. Bailey Castro drew a leadoff walk – her fourth free pass of the day – and then advanced two bases on an MSU throwing error off a Taylore Fuller single before scoring on Aubree Munro's sacrifice fly. The Bulldogs answered with four singles to manufacture two runs in the seventh before a three-run walkoff home run produced the final margin.
STARS OF THE GAME
· Kirsti Merritt: Florida's center fielder reached base four times on the day with two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. The junior scored the Gators' second run to provide insurance for Ocasio.
· Kelsey Stewart: The 2014 All-American had two singles, including a table-setting base hit up the middle to lead off the game and set up Florida's first run.
NOTABLES
· Aleshia Ocasio recorded 10 strikeouts, setting a season-high for conference games and marking her third outing with double-digit Ks (last: 2/13 vs. NC State – 12).
· The freshman posted six consecutive outs via the strikeout in the fourth and fifth innings.
· Castro tied her career high with four walks, which equals the school record.
· Merritt stole two bases, marking her second multi-steal game of the year (also: Feb. 21 vs. Kansas).
· The junior scored her 31st run of the year in the first inning, breaking a tie with Lauren Haeger for sole possession of second place on the team (Stewart – 37).
· The Lake Panasoffkee, Fla., native had two hits, marking her eighth multi-hit game of the year; this ranks second on the team.
· Merritt was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, giving her 24 HBPs on the season and 46 for her career to extend her school records.
· Stewart's theft of home on the first-inning double steal marked her 87th career stolen base, extending her school record.
· The Florida leadoff hitter had two hits, marking her team-best 15th multi-hit game of the season.
WALTON'S WORDS
On Sunday's game and Ocasio's performance:
“Give Mississippi State credit – we had two outs and two strikes against four or five different batters [in the seventh], and we just couldn't quite put it away. I thought [Ocasio] pitched well. Just give Mississippi State credit – I thought they did a good job of getting it done.”
On what Florida will focus on heading into a four-game homestand:
“We're going to focus a lot on our offense and try to get it going in the next couple weeks. We will try to get back to watching film [and] get the reps. We're going to really increase our reps – that's one thing we haven't been able to do here because of travel. We'll increase our reps and try to improve that way.”
— Florida Head Coach Tim Walton
UP NEXT
The Gators will return home to face in-state opponent UNF on Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET. Live streaming will be available to subscribers on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN, while WGGG (1230-AM) will have the radio broadcast. In addition, a live stats link can be found on the schedule page on GatorZone.com.
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