Entering her senior season, Lauren Haeger was a household name in the batter’s box.
This year though, Haeger’s dominance in the circle has been the story.
As much as Haeger is known as a hitter, her performance in the circle this season has been the reason why she’s a contender for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.
And one of the reasons why the Gators have a chance to repeat as national champions.
No. 3 Florida (40-4, 11-4 SEC) completed its second consecutive conference sweep as they beat No. 13 Kentucky (27-14, 4-11 SEC) 2-0 behind another strong pitching performance from Haeger.
Haeger is now 19-0 on the season with a 1.03 ERA after throwing her 13th complete game of the season.
"I’ve just worked really hard this year in the bullpen," Haeger said. "Taking away playing first base has really really helped me and helped me focus a lot more."
Haeger worked out of trouble in the first inning after the Wildcats had two runners on base. Haeger walked two runners before she was able to get Breanne Ray to pop out to first base.
In the bottom of the inning, the Gators took a 1-0 lead after a Kirsti Merritt sacrifice fly scored Kelsey Stewart from third base.
Merritt had a solid game defensively in center field as she made a couple of plays to rob Kentucky batters of hits.
In the top of the fifth, Merritt ran to her left and snagged a fly ball and then fired to first base to complete a double play.
But there was one play where Merritt buckled and allowed a ball to get over her head. It’s the one play that stuck in her mind after the game.
"It was a bad read by me," Merritt said. "I’ll get better at those in practice, I won’t worry about that one ever again. It won’t happen again."
It was one of the two hits that Haeger allowed in the game and she didn’t allow the first hit until the fifth inning.
Other than that, Haeger was efficient. She would need just three pitches to retire Kentucky in order in the top of the fourth.
In the bottom of the frame, Florida had a chance to extend its lead with the bases loaded. Coach Tim Walton called on freshman Janell Wheaton to pinch hit for Kathlyn Medina.
But Wheaton struck out swinging.
Justine McLean didn’t fare any better as she lined out to third to end the frame with all three runners on board.
But Florida didn’t waste the same opportunity in the bottom of the fifth as Haeger hit a sac fly to center field which scored Stewart to make it 2-0 UF. Haeger just barely missed her 66th career home run as the ball fell into the glove of center fielder Sylver Samuel just a couple of feet short of the center-field fence.
With players of the caliber of Haeger and Stewart leading the team, Walton is happy with other players stepping up and contributing to Florida’s strong start to the year.
"I’m glad our team continues to compete," Walton said. "Just watching them compete…we’re a team. We have a couple of superstars, but for the most part, we’re a team."
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
Lauren Haeger pitches during Florida's 14-10 loss to LSU on Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
