Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida softball team defeated Oakland University, 6-2 and 10-0 (5), in doubleheader action Wednesday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

The Gators (10-1) took two from the Golden Grizzlies (2-6) after the team combined for 16 runs on 13 hits.

After scoring a single run in the bottom of the first, the Gators rallied for five in the fifth to secure the victory in game one of the day.

Freshman Danielle Romanello brought in the first run via a SAC fly to center field. Amanda Lorenz scored on the play after reaching base for via a leadoff walk.

Jordan Roberts notched a pair of RBI after a base hit to left field and Jordan Matthews along with Hannah Adams provided RBI singles in the five-run frame.  

However, the Golden Grizzlies didn't go away quietly in Game 1. Madison Jones lifted a home run over the left-center field wall to close down the Florida lead to 6-2.

Kelly Barnhill had one of her most successful outings of the season as she recorded 15 strikeouts on just 65 pitches and allowed one hit before freshman Natalie Lugo relieved her in the top of the sixth with two outs. Lugo finished with one strikeout and two hits and two runs allowed.

The Gators started Game 2 with a run in the bottom of the first inning just like game one. Nicole DeWitt pushed across Lorenz on a single to left that lifted the Gators up to a 1-0 lead over Oakland.

The Florida offense pressured the Golden Grizzlies defense in the top of the second. The Gators strung together seven runs on just three hits and a pair of errors.

After a Jaimie Hoover RBI single up the middle, a pair of infield errors by Jessie Munson at second base allow Florida to score its first four runs of the inning. Jordan Matthews and Jordan Roberts capped off the scoring with run scoring singles up the heart of the Oakland infield.

Kayli Kvistad extended the Florida lead out to 10-0 in the third via a double to left center field that scored DeWitt and Adams.

Sophomore Katie Chronister pitched effectively for four-complete innings before being relieved by Lugo. Chronister tossed 67 pitches and struck out five while allowing only a single hit in the game.

Florida returns to action Friday at 4:30 p.m. when the team opens up play in the Aquafina Invitational against Maryland.

Walton's Words
Opening Statement…
"First off, I think Kelly Barnhill did a good job setting the tempo today for us. She came out and had 15 strikeouts, and threw the ball well. Katie Chronister got her second start of the season, and the same thing. She came out and really commanded the zone, used her defense and I thought overall our offense was good. Especially in some spots. We had some two-out hits in game one and game two. Overall, it was good. Another good crowd and it was a great day here."
 
On the games that Barnhill and Chronister had…
"I thought it was good, and I really feel the key to success for our team is pitching and defense. When you have pitchers out there pounding the zone. Kelly obviously had a good rise ball going today and Katie had a good drop ball. I think overall it was really good. A good tone and good tempo, but more importantly confidence."
 
On appearances by young players…
"It was pretty cool to have quite a few freshmen in the game, and their starts. That was nice to be able to go with some younger players with some good at-bats and RBIs. That was fun to see, and they have been working hard, but more importantly, they did well. That's a huge luxury to have young players that can perform under pressure."
 
 
From the Players

Jordan Roberts
On having runners on base consistently these games…
"It's awesome. I mean it obviously makes me feel good coming up because I know that I have a purpose. My purpose is to score these runners, get a hit, do something and obviously be intentional my at bats. It feels good. It feels great."

Katie Chronister
On having 1-0 leads early and the feeling as a pitcher…
"It's huge to know that they are going to start their bats early and help us out as much as they can from the get go. It's a huge relief for us. We always want to compete like it's a 0-0 ballgame because we don't want to let up on a pitch, but when you just have that one run at the beginning of the game, you feel pretty good through the rest of the game because you know something else is going to keep firing up."
 
 
Notable Notes

• Florida improved to 3-0 all-time against Oakland.
• Kelly Barnhill recorded a season-high 15 strikeouts in game one against Oakland.
  • It's the second time this season Barnhill has recorded 10+ strikeouts in a game.
  • She stuck out the side four times tonight and has now stuck out the side seven times for the season.
• Katie Chronister struck out the side in the third inning.
  • It's the second time during her career that she has struck out the side. The last time occurred Feb. 17, 2017 in the seventh inning against Florida A&M.
• The Gators scored five runs in the fifth inning of game one and seven in the second inning of game two.
  • Florida has scored four or more runs in a single inning 10 times this season.
• Nicole DeWitt recorded her first multi-hit game of the season in game one against the Golden Grizzlies. DeWitt went 2-for-3 with a run scored.
• Jordan Matthews tallied her second multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-3 with an RBI in game one.

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