Game
Recap
Fourth-seeded
Florida (44-8) defeated Bethune-Cookman (32-23), 6-0, in the second game of
action on Friday evening at Pressly Stadium in a game with a two hours and 25
minute rain delay.?
Junior
Stephanie Brombacher (30-6) earned the win, allowing only three hits, no walks
and tied a season high with 11 strikeouts.? Junior Allison Garcia (25-15)
recorded the loss, allowing eight hits, six runs, two walks and struck out
three.
The Gators
struck first in the second with a two-out solo shot by junior Kelsey Bruder,
her 12th of the season to give UF a 1-0 lead.?
Florida added a run in the fourth as
freshman Brittany Schutte and junior Megan Bush hit back-to-back singles to
start the inning.? Bruder grounded out to first, advancing both runners into
scoring position and junior Tiffany DeFelice plated Schutte with a ground out
to short.?
The Gators
increased their lead to 6-0 with four runs on five hits.? With one down,
Schutte doubled to left and Bush followed with a single through the left side.?
Sophomore Lauren Heil came in to pinch run and Bruder tapped a roller down the
third-base line to load the bases for DeFelice.? The catcher smacked a single
to left center to score Schutte and Heil.? Bruder and DeFelice executed a
double steal to move into scoring position for freshman pinch hitter Kelsey
Horton, who belted a bases-clearing double through the left side to give
Florida a 6-0 lead.? Brombacher ended the game with a strikeout, stealing the
UF win.
Post-Game
Quotes
Bethune-Cookman
Head Coach Chris Cochran
Opening
Statement:
??I thought we played very good
defense with a little bit of a break down in the sixth inning, but they
[Florida] just keep coming at you and coming at you with a lot of tools to work
with.?
Bethune-Cookman
Sophomore Second Baseman Cesley Tafoya
On Florida pitcher Stephanie Brombacher?s complete-game shutout:
??We knew coming in that she was not
going to throw a lot of balls; Coach [Chris Cochran] told us that from the get
go. We were looking for a first pitch strike. I knew she was going in, had a
curve and she went up. I starting looking inside for anything I could drive.?
Bethune-Cookman
Junior Pitcher Allison Garcia
On going
against Florida?s offense:
?They are
a very, very strong hitting team, I tried to put my best out there, hit my
spots and work with the count.?
Florida
Head Coach Tim Walton
Opening
Statement:
??I thought we came out ready to
play. Intensity was good and Stephanie was great in the first inning and set
the tempo for the game. I thought we played really well, with one minor miscue,
but overall the defense was in-tune and the second time through the line-up was
a lot better than the first, with the exception of Kelsey's hit in her first
at-bat. Other than that, I think we came out ready to play but I give
Bethune-Cookman a lot of credit. I think they had a good game plan offensively
and in the circle.?
Florida Junior Pitcher Stephanie
Brombacher
On the
two-and-a-half hour rain delay:
?We sat in
the locker room, watched some other games that were on TV and tried to stay
focused. We just wanted to play. You don't want to be so focused that your
brain gets going, but you just want to relax and not get too far out of your
element.?
On her
11 strikeouts against Bethune-Cookman:
??I warmed up well and that always
helps. Bethune-Cookman came out swinging and they were good hitters, but I just
made my pitches. I felt really good about my curve ball and last week I felt
that it was something I was missing, but I've been working on it and I felt
really good about it today.?
Florida Junior Right Fielder Kelsey Bruder
On her
home run just before the lengthy weather delay:
?It's good
to come out and make a statement and get on the board before they do. It was a
momentum-carrier.?
Bethune-Cookman
Game Notes
?
Bethune-Cookman,
the 2010 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Champion, dropped to 32-23 overall,
snapping a seven-game losing streak for the Wildcats.
?
Friday?s game
marked just the fourth time Bethune-Cookman has been shut out all season.
?
The Wildcats
were making their sixth trip all-time to the NCAA Tournament, and their first
since advancing to the NCAA Super Regional in 2005.
Florida Game Notes
?
Florida improves to 44-8 overall with the
victory, marking the fourth consecutive season the team has won 44 or more
games.
?
The Gators now
lead the series with Bethune-Cookman 13-2.
?
Florida is making its 12th trip to the
NCAA Tournament and its ninth consecutive, improves to 27-21 all-time in NCAA
Tournament play.
?
Junior pitcher
Stephanie Brombacher (30-6) tied her season high with 11 strikeouts, earning
her 30th win of the season.
?
Brombacher
charted her 13th shutout of the season and her first since May 9 against South Carolina.
?
Junior right
fielder Kelsey Bruder hit her 12th home run of the season in the second inning,
tying the Gators with Alabama for the most home runs in the SEC this season
with 97.
?
Coming out of a
two hour and 25 minute rain delay, Brombacher retired the side with three
strikeouts.
?
Freshman
utility player Brittany Schutte scored two runs for the Gators, putting her in
12th on Florida's single-season runs list with 44.
?
Freshman
catcher Kelsey Horton hit her fourth career double as a pinch hitter to plate
two Gators.
