Florida Gators
Fresno State
Top-Ranked Gators Take 4-1 Victory vs. Fresno State to Improve to 27-0
Sunday, March 8, 2015 | Softball
Fullerton, Calif. – The No. 1-ranked University of Florida softball team defeated Fresno State 4-1 on Saturday to complete a perfect 10-game road trip to California. Senior right-hander Lauren Haeger (11-0) earned the win after she allowed one earned run on six hits with nine strikeouts and no walks over seven innings.
Florida got on the board with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kelsey Stewart led off with a single through the left side, advancing to second on a wild pitch before Bailey Castro put the Gators ahead 2-0 with a two-run home run to left-center.
Florida's home-run hitting continued in the third, when Haeger led off the inning with a solo shot to right-center that extended the UF lead to three. The Bulldogs scored a run in the sixth with a leadoff single and a one-out double to right field.
A bases-loaded sacrifice bunt by Kirsti Merritt scored Briana Little, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the sixth. The run pushed the score to 4-1, producing the final margin in the Gator win.
STARS OF THE GAMES
· Bailey Castro: The senior's two-run home run was her seventh of the season, breaking a tie with Taylore Fuller and Kirsti Merritt for second place on the team.
· Lauren Haeger: The Arizona native earned her team-best 11th win of the year and helped her own cause at the plate with a solo home run in in the third inning.
· Nicole DeWitt: The Garden Grove, Calif., native had a single and a double in Florida's Golden State finale. The pair of hits doubled the freshman's total for the road trip.
NOTABLES
· Florida ran its season-opening win streak to 27 games, extending the school record for the longest string of victories to begin a campaign.
· The Gators now lead the all-time series against Fresno State, 3-2. This includes a 2-0 record under Head Coach Tim Walton.
· The home runs by Castro and Haeger were the third for both players during UF's 10-game road trip to California, tying Fuller and Merritt for the most on the team during that span.
· The right fielder walked twice, marking the third time this season she has drawn multiple bases on balls in a game (last: Feb. 22 vs. Mercer, Game 2).
· Haeger's home run was her team-best ninth of the season, which pulls the senior into a four-way tie for second place in the Southeastern Conference.
· No. 17's blast was the 61st of her career, bringing Haeger within four home runs of Megan Bush's all-time program record.
· The solo shot marked Haeger's 223rd career RBI, extending her school record.
· The right-hander recorded at least one strikeout in every inning but the fourth.
· Stewart's leadoff single ran her hitting streak to 13 games dating back to Feb. 22.
· Nicole DeWitt's fourth-inning double was her second of the year and second of the California road trip (also: Feb. 28 vs. UC Davis).
· The head coaches in Saturday's game, Walton and Trisha Ford of Fresno State, both will serve as assistant coaches for the 2015 USA Softball Junior Women's National Team. Florida infielder Nicole DeWitt and Gator signee Kelly Barnhill will don the Red, White & Blue for that squad.
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue will open Southeastern Conference play on Friday, when they host No. 5/4 LSU. First pitch from Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT. WGGG (1230-AM) will have the radio broadcast, and a live stats link be found on the schedule page on GatorZone.com.
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