UF first baseman Kayli Kvistad jogged up the first-base line.
With two outs in the bottom of the second and third baseman Nicole DeWitt in scoring position, the senior grounded the ball off the glove of FAMU pitcher Kyiara Brown. It ricocheted to the second baseman, who had a short throw over to first baseman Toni Anderson to end the inning.
However, Anderson dropped the ball, allowing Kvistad to reach base and make a break for second.
“I had already went too far,” Kvistad said. “If I would’ve went back, she would’ve tagged me.”
It appeared she’d still be thrown out easily at second, except Anderson fired the ball well over the head of shortstop Yuri Hampton, allowing Kvistad to stand on second safely while DeWitt scored.
The mistake-ridden play represented the chaos of a four-and-a-half inning circus where No. 5 Florida leveled Florida A&M 19-3.
The trouncing began with a one-two-three top of the first inning from UF pitcher Natalie Lugo in her second-career start. The Rattlers (19-24) couldn’t touch her all game. She pitched a perfect game through four innings and finished with no hits, one walk, and one earned run in 4.1 innings. Out of the 14 batters she faced, Lugo threw a first-pitch strike to 13 of them.
“Natalie Lugo really set the tone for us,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “If Natalie continues to keep pitching well, she’ll continue to get the ball.”
UF started the night offensively with a leadoff single by second baseman Hannah Adams. Back-to-back walks by left fielder Amanda Lorenz and DeWitt followed Adams to load the bases.
In the cleanup spot, Kvistad struck a hard hit off the glove of FAMU’s Anderson that bounced into right field. The single brought Adams and Lorenz home as the Gators (38-7, 12-3 SEC) captured two runs before registering an out.
A ground out by designated player Jordan Matthews brought DeWitt across to complete a three-run first.
In the bottom of the second inning, Florida quadrupled that output.
The 12-run half inning featured RBIs from all nine players in UF’s lineup and 17 total plate appearances.
“We didn’t wait for the perfect pitch,” Kvistad said. “We were just swinging and taking our hacks and trying to hit the ball solid.”
With the bases loaded and UF’s lead at 6-0, FAMU pitchers Veroni Burse and Brown combined to walk three consecutive batters — Matthews, catcher Jordan Roberts and shortstop Sophia Reynoso — to give the Gators a nine-run lead on only four hits.
In the bottom of the third, Robert led off with a solo home run. A subsequent single by Reynoso brought up freshman Josie Page, who struck a single of her own to right center for her first collegiate hit.
Pinch hitter Jaimie Hoover followed Page with a three-run bomb over the left field wall to give Florida its largest lead of the season, 19-0.
Lugo was nearly flawless through four innings. After walking a batter with one out in the fifth, she was pulled in favor of sophomore Katie Chronister. Chronister allowed three hits and a walk on 27 pitches as all of FAMU’s runs came across during her stint in the circle.
Now, Florida has 10 games left on its regular season schedule before the 2018 SEC Tournament begins in mid-May
“We’re getting in the home stretch,” Kvistad said of Wednesday’s game. “I think that it was a great opportunity for everyone (to get playing time).”
Follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr and contact him at mstine@alligaotr.org.
First baseman Kayli Kvistad drove in a pair of runs in Florida's 19-3 win over Florida A&M on Wednesday.
