“Now here’s a little something that needs to be heard.”
The words of Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story” bounced off of Jordan Matthews’ lips, keeping her calm as she approached the plate with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The freshman uncorked a 2-0 pitch to left field. The single scored two runners and instated a comfortable five-run lead for Florida’s softball team.
“She’s just a gamer,” UF coach Tim Walton said of Matthews. “We try not to talk to her too much about how to do or what to do. But the one thing she has… grit.”
Led by Matthews’ three RBIs, the No. 6 Gators (27-3, 7-2 SEC) completed a three-game sweep of Texas A&M (29-7, 3-3 SEC) on Monday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, beating the Aggies 7-3.
Despite giving up three earned runs, UF pitcher Kelly Barnhill pitched six strong innings and struck out 10 to improve to 14-1 on the season.
Meanwhile, the Aggies struggled all weekend to find consistency in the circle. For the third time in the series, Florida forced No. 8 Texas A&M to go to its bullpen in the first inning.
“I thought our team responded well to this challenge,” Walton said. “The difference was our patience early in the game.”
The Gators put up four runs in the opening frame without registering a conventional hit.
UF’s first three batters — Amanda Lorenz, Nicole DeWitt and Kayli Kvistad — laid off pitches that just missed the outside corner of the plate and walked to load the bases with no outs.
After starting pitcher Lexi Smith then walked Matthews and right fielder Aleshia Ocasio to score Lorenz and DeWitt, the Aggies called on Trinity Harrington to enter the game in relief in the first inning for the second straight night.
Texas A&M’s ace got them out of the jam, but not before she surrendered an RBI-walk to second baseman Hannah Adams followed by an RBI squeeze bunt from shortstop Sophia Reynoso.
Texas A&M earned a run back in the top of the fourth when Samantha Show knocked a 1-1 pitch from Barnhill off the left-field foul pole for a solo home run.
However, a two-RBI single from Matthews in the bottom of the inning made it 6-1.
In the top of the fifth, Show brought her team within three runs again after she ripped a two-run single of her own through the right side of the infield.
In the circle, Harrington kept Florida’s bats quiet, giving up only three hits and no earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.
But with the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, she hit UF catcher Janell Wheaton to notch the final run of the night for the Gators.
Ocasio finished the night in the circle for the Gators, pitching the final inning to help them earn their second SEC sweep of 2018.
“We came out really strong this weekend. We scored lots of runs early,” Barnhill said. “It just makes my job easier out there.”
Follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr and contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
Designated player Jordan Matthews drove in three runs in Florida's 7-3 win over Texas A&M on Monday.
