Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It was a good weekend for Florida softball, as the No. 8 Gators not only stopped a three-game losing streak, but registered the first sweep of a Southeastern Conference series this season, taking a trio from 14th-ranked Arkansas in front of the home crowds at Pressly Stadium. 

Senior ace Kelly Barnhill sandwiched a 3-0 shutout Friday night and 3-1 win Sunday around freshman Elizabeth Hightower's 8-0 triumph Saturday, as UF (32-9, 6-6) got back to the break-even mark in the league standings. 

"It was nice to get this feeling again," said senior slugger Amanda Lorenz, who admitted that maybe she and some of her veteran teammates had taken this whole SEC sweep thing (a common occurrence in these parts the last, oh, bunch of seasons) for granted. "It wasn't easy, but we did it and everybody is really excited. And maybe a little relieved, too."

Given that hard-to-swallow 2-0 home loss to rival Florida State at home, plus dropping those two at Ole Miss the previous weekend, these were three days that got the club back on track, right? 

"I'll be honest," Florida coach Tim Walton said. "Winning is great, but I don't feel that different."

That's not to say Walton was not pleased with the overall outcome. Of course, he was.

But as Walton said after the FSU setback Wednesday, he's a realist. 

His players had some nice moments against the Razorbacks. Barnhill pitched two complete games and gave up a single run. The UF defense was terrific, as it has been all season. Offensively, the Gators got some quality at-bats against good counts, especially in the second game when they scored in all five innings on the way to a run-rule victory. Amanda Lorenz was, well, Amanda Lorenz, with the go-ahead single in the third inning Sunday and RBI-double in the fifth that provided Barnhill with a much-needed insurance run to help finish out the sweep. 

"When the offense can go out there and take that pressure off, you can pitch a little more free," Barnhill said. "They did a great job of putting the ball in play, making things happen. It was fun to watch, fun to be in the dugout, and fun for me to go out there and pitch." With three wins, Florida moved to within two games of second place in the SEC standings, with a road trip this weekend to Texas A&M (25-15, 3-9). That series will be a rematch of last year's dramatic NCAA Gainesville Super Regional, though the Aggies (like the Gators) lost a bunch of players off that team. A&M is currently tied for last in the league, but more than capable of giving UF a series, especially at home. 

The Gators would love to keep the good vibes going with their mid-week home date against South Florida, then take some momentum with them to College Station.

"This just really shows that we're always going to be one pitch away from winning a lot of games or one pitch away from potentially losing a lot of games," Walton said. "We have to stay focused. Every at-bat, every pitch, every ground ball matters." 

Yes, and every win (especially a sweep) matters, as well. And should be savored. 

That's why Walton left the ball yard Sunday afternoon intent on enjoying the rest of the day, as well as Monday's day off.  

"Hopefully, that's something our team and everybody else in this league understands," he said. "When you win, enjoy it, because it's hard to do."