The long ball favored Tennessee on Friday.
The No. 2 Volunteers (29-3, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) hit three home runs against the No. 4 Gators (31-5, 5-5 SEC) to take the opening game of the series 9-2 in Knoxville, Tenn.
“The bottom line is we have to execute,” coach Tim Walton said in a release. “That’s going to be the key. We have to execute everything.”
In a game that featured dominate senior pitchers in UF’s Hannah Rogers and UT’s Ellen Renfroe, the Volunteers had the upper hand. In her 18th start and 17th complete game of the season, Renfroe (19-0) surrendered six hits and two runs — only one of which was earned — while striking out seven of the 30 batters she faced.
In her three innings in the circle, Rogers (14-4) gave up four hits and three earned runs while striking out three batters and walking three.
Following two scoreless innings, Florida drew first blood in the top of the third.
After Kirsti Merritt drew a leadoff walk, Lauren Haeger hit a single through the right side to advance Merritt to third base. Third baseman Stephanie Tofft then drove Merritt home on a sacrifice fly that was dropped by Volunteers center fielder Rainey Gaffin, allowing Tofft to reach base.
But Florida’s lead would not remain for long.
In the bottom of the third frame with runners on first and second, Tennessee designated player Annie Aldrete hit a two-out home run to right field to give the Volunteers a 3-1 lead.
The Gators would tally one more run in the fifth inning — a leadoff home run by Merritt to left field.
Aldrete hit a second home run in the sixth inning — a three-RBI shot to left center — to cap off scoring.
Despite now having a .500 record in the SEC, Walton believes that the season is too young to start worrying.
“Obviously, we’re going through a point in time in the season where we’re not playing our best, but there is a lot of the season left,” Walton said.
“There’s no reason to panic. We’ve beaten a lot of good teams. We’ve lost to some good teams. We’ll continue to run the best lineup out there that we can to win the next game.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Kirsti Merritt bats against Florida’s 6-0 win against Jacksonville on Feb. 19 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
