TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The sixth-ranked Florida softball team fell, 4-1, in the initial game of the Fresh from Florida Sunshine Showdown to No. 13 Florida State at JoAnne Graf Field.
The Gators (34-7) and the Seminoles (34-7) combined for a total of seven hits in the pitchers' duel with FSU's Kylee Hanson (20-3) earning the victory in the circle.
Carsyn Gordon put the Seminoles ahead, 1-0, in the bottom of the first inning with a one-out solo home run.
The Gators responded in the third to tie the game, 1-1, on an RBI double by
Kayli Kvistad. Kvistad, slotted in the leadoff spot for the first time of her career, ripped the 2-2 pitch from Hanson to the right field wall, which allowed
Alex Voss to score from second.
Voss entered the game to run for sophomore catcher
Jordan Roberts after she reached with a leadoff walk.
The Seminoles retook the lead, 2-1, in the fourth frame. Gordon drew a leadoff walk and moved into scoring position on a single that hit off the third base bag. Zoe Casas drove in Gordon in the next at-bat with a single up the middle of the Gators infield.
Ocasio(14-5) nearly tied the game 2-2 with a hit that topped the 220 sign in center field, but the ball bounced back into play for a one-out double. Ocasio moved to third on a groundout from Kvistad and the Gators loaded the bases with back-to-back walks from DeWitt and Lorenz.
Hanson was able to work her way out of the jam after she forced an infield pop fly from
Jordan Matthews.
FSU extended its lead to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the fifth. An infield single by Morgan Klaevemann and a triple by Harrod scored the first run and scored the second when Gordon grounded out to Reynoso for the first out.
The Gators return back home to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Friday, April 13, at 6 p.m. against No. 11 South Carolina.
Walton's Words
Overall thoughts on tonight's game…
"Well obviously we didn't put ourselves in a great position to score a lot of runs with only getting two hits, but at the end of the day we still had runners in scoring position with opportunities. We are going to have to do a better job when we get those opportunities. I think that's been our only downfall the last couple of weeks, just not being able to score enough runs or get enough hits when we do have runners in scoring position."
Notable Notes
- Florida still leads the all-time series against Florida State 24-16 and 12-9 in Tallahassee.
- Amanda Lorenz extended her reached base safely streak to 41 games this season.
- She has now reached safely in 165 of 172 games over her career.
- Kayli Kvistad was slotted into the leadoff spot in the lineup for the first time of her career.
- She went 1-for-4 in the game with a double and an RBI.
