It started out with three runs. Then 12. Then another four. All in just three innings.
This was the one-sided performance Florida’s softball team put forth at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in its 19-3 win against Florida A&M on Wednesday night.
With the 16-run differentiation, the Gators (38-7, 12-3 SEC) tied for the seventh-largest margin of victory in the history of the program.
The victory was so great in fact that all but one player on Florida’s roster got in the game and contributed to the victory.
“I think it’s important to have the people have the confidence to come in and getting their job done,” first baseman Kayli Kvistad said. “It was a great opportunity for everyone.”
It will be another team effort on Friday when Florida takes on Mississippi State (33-12, 6-9 SEC) in its third to last SEC series of the regular season at Nusz Park.
“I think it’s important for our future, just coming in in important games,” Kvistad said. “And them believing in themselves and having the confidence when they’re in the box…and getting the job done.”
Kvistad believes it’s crucial now more than ever that everyone on the team is prepared for the home stretch of the season.
However, with a hefty schedule remaining, the team realizes that as much as playing and practicing matters, rest does as well.
Coach Tim Walton was pleased with the high number of at-bats his team was able to get in during the midweek contest, but he was even happier with the opportunity to give some of the starters a chance to rest by getting them out of the game fairly early.
“The one thing you would hate to do is make a game up and get somebody hurt, or something silly happens, and you kind of second-guess yourself,” he said. “I think overall the main priority is to get everybody at-bats and to keep our timing right.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a weekend series win at Ole Miss, taking the series in shutout fashion in the first two games before losing the final contest by one run. Additionally, the Bulldogs took the diamond again on Tuesday against the Memphis Tigers, securing a 3-1 victory.
Walton said that Mississippi State, while having a losing conference record, has been competitive. In its most recent matchup with the Gators in 2016, the game went down to the final pitch.
The Gators and Bulldogs were tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 10th when then-freshman Amanda Lorenz stepped up to plate and hit a walk-off home run to left-center field.
The Gators will try to keep their four-game winning streak alive heading into tonight’s matchup against the Bulldogs in Starkville at 7.
Follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari and contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Coach Tim Walton was more than happy to empty his bench in Florida's 19-3 win over Florida A&M on Wednesday. “I think overall the main priority is to get everybody at-bats and to keep our timing right," he said.
