In her first at-bat of the night, Amanda Lorenz stepped up to the plate with confidence.
The junior left fielder stretched the bat over the back of her head before watching as Mississippi State’s Candace Denis released a pitch from the circle.
Lorenz struck the ball in the zone, admiring it as it soared through the air and disappeared behind the red wall in left field. Lorenz had just smacked her sixth home run of the season, giving the Gators a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
In addition to giving the Gators an early advantage, the hit helped set the team on track for an 8-3 victory at Nusz Stadium against Mississippi State on Friday night.
After Lorenz’s homer to left field, senior utility player Aleshia Ocasio sent a home run of her own to center field with first baseman Kayli Kvistad already on base.
The Bulldogs answered back in the bottom of the second when UF pitcher Kelly Barnhill let a rise ball loose from the mound. With a 1-2 count on the board, MSU center fielder Kat Moore didn’t hold back as she sent the pitch over the right field wall.
However, the homer wasn’t enough to keep the momentum going for the Bulldogs.
Following the home run, Barnhill immediately struck out designated player Morgan Bell. Right fielder Carmen Carter then popped out to Gators third baseman Nicole DeWitt, ending the second inning quickly for Mississippi State’s offense.
Things picked up again in the third inning when Florida added another two runs of its own onto the board.
A pair of singles from Lorenz and DeWitt allowed them to get into scoring position early in the frame. Lorenz then crossed home plate following a fielding error from MSU, and DeWitt tacked on a fifth run for UF following an RBI single from designated player Jordan Matthews.
In the fourth inning, DeWitt hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score teammate Alex Voss, increasing Florida’s lead to 6-1.
After a scoreless inning, the Gators found their groove again in the top of the sixth when Lorenz sent a triple to right field, allowing enough time for second baseman Hannah Adams to score the team’s seventh run.
Following Adams’ run, DeWitt hit another sacrifice fly to center field, giving Lorenz enough time to score from third and bring the Gators (39-7, 13-3 SEC) lead up to 8-1.
The Bulldogs (33-13, 6-10 SEC) answered back in the bottom of the sixth when Mia Davidson sent a two-run homer to right center field, but those were the final runners to cross home plate on Friday night.
Lorenz went 4-for-4 on the evening — scoring three runs against the Bulldogs — and continued her streak of reaching base safely in every game so far this season.
Barnhill (20-1) had a successful night on the mound, limiting the Bulldogs to two hits and three runs. She also recorded her 219th strikeout of the year.
Denis (4-3) took the loss for the Bulldogs. She allowed 10 hits on 140 pitches for the night.
Taking a 1-0 series lead, Florida will kick off a doubleheader against the Bulldogs to finish off the series Saturday starting at 2 p.m.
Follow Mari Faiello on Twitter @faiello_mari and contact her at mfaiello@alligator.org.
Amanda Lorenz went 4-for-4 on Friday night in the Gators 8-3 win over Mississippi State.
