Lauren Haeger was two strikes away from sealing a 5-3 Gators victory and notching her second save of the season.
She delivered a 1-1 pitch to Tennessee second baseman Lauren Gibson, who turned on the pitch and launched it a foot over the Southeastern Conference champions design on the right-center field fence.
The two-run blast tied the game, but the Volunteers could not seize the opportunity and score the go-ahead run. Instead, they gave the game to the Gators.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, shortstop Katie Medina led off with a double, and pinch hitter Taylore Fuller singled her over to third.
Relief pitcher Cheyanne Tarango intentionally walked freshman Kelsey Stewart to load the bases for junior Stephanie Tofft.
Tofft took three straight balls and a high strike before Tarango issued the final free pass of the night, scoring the game-winning run.
“I was ready; I wanted to hit,” Tofft said. “In that situation, a lot of people get nervous. For once in my life, I didn’t.”
After drawing six free passes, the No. 3 Gators (26-2, 3-1 SEC) walked off the field as victors in their the first game of a three-game series against the No. 6 Volunteers (22-5, 2-2 SEC).
The two teams matched each other for most of the game.
Tarango homered off of Florida started Hannah Rogers in the first inning, but the Gators responded with RBI singles by senior Kelsey Horton and freshman Taylor Schwarz.
Rogers surrendered three hits in a rocky first frame, but settled down quickly.
“(I was) just trying to keep a positive mentality,” Rogers said. “I also asked (assistant coach Kelsey) Bruder too. I would go to her before the inning and be like, ‘Give me a pump-up talk.’”
In the fourth, Tennessee added a run after Rogers’ throw to Medina at second base bounced into the outfield, allowing a runner to score.
But Medina redeemed herself in the bottom half of the inning when she hit a single through the right side to tie the game up.
The Gators took a two-run lead in the sixth on a wild pitch by Volunteers pitcher Ivy Renfroe and a single by Stewart, but Haeger gave the lead back in the top of the seventh, setting the stage for Tofft to win the game in the eighth inning.
“I know it’s a good win,” coach Tim Walton. “I feel good.”
Florida and Tennessee take the field for the second game of the series on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Junior starter Hannah Rogers pitches during Florida’s 9-1 victory against UNC Wilmington on Feb. 17 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Rogers gave up five runs to Mississippi State in the second inning on Sunday.
