Bethune-Cookman’s Yvonne Siordia hit a pop up toward second baseman Nicole DeWitt.
Even though it looked like an easy out, Siordia kept running — a good choice on her part. DeWitt couldn’t make the catch, and as the ball dropped onto the field, the Wildcats' third run of the first inning crossed home plate.
The three runs marked the first time since 2006 that the Wildcats scored on the Gators, and they weren't done.
Meanwhile, UF shortstop Sophia Reynoso also committed an error in the first inning. The pair of errors made for Florida’s seventh and eighth errors all season. Add on another error later in the game, and the three miscues were the most the Gators have committed in a single game this year.
“I don’t think we were our best," coach Tim Walton said. "Clearly.”
With the midweek game having started so uncharacteristically for the Gators, the team needed to respond.
It did, converting nine runs on eight hits in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats had no response, and No. 2 Florida (30-2) beat Bethune-Cookman (12-24) by a score of 15-7 in five innings at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
“I don’t know if we came out our sharpest ready to play, but I thought (we) did a good job of responding with the nine runs,” Walton said.
The offense began with a three-run homer by freshman Jordan Roberts, her fifth of the season. The Gators followed with a two-RBI single to center field from Justine McLean. The senior from Rancho Cucamonga, California, now has 11 on the season. After that, it was DeWitt who smacked a three-run homer to center field that pushed Florida’s lead to 9-3.
Every starter batted in the inning at least once.
“Coming back from the 3-0 in the first inning was really important to us,” junior Kayli Kvistad said. “It was a great fight from both teams.”
Florida tallied another four runs in the second inning to extend its lead. Aleshia Ocasio, Amanda Lorenz and DeWitt were walked, which helped the Gators score off a sacrifice fly from McLean and a single from Kvistad.
After the first two innings, Florida’s bats went fairly quiet. Brooke Clemens hammered her first home run of the season to left field in the third inning, and Jacqui Switzer bunted her way on base in the fourth. Switzer evetually reached third and stole home off a Wildcats wild pitch.
Bethune-Cookman’s response came in the top of the fourth inning, when it scored four runs. After loading the bases with one out, sophomore Brianna Sanders hit a two-RBI double to left center field. Two batters later, Siordia followed suit with a two-RBI single.
Despite Herndon laying out for a diving catch in right field, the four runs scored in the inning were the most an opposing team has scored against the Gators in one inning all season.
“Coming back, we knew we had to get runners on base, and Jacqui did a great job getting that first hit,” Kvistad said.
Overall, both teams had a strong offensive game. Florida will look to roll this offense into the weekend when the team travels to Fayetteville to face SEC foe No. 23 Arkansas on Friday.
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
UF catcher Jordan Roberts bats during Florida's 15-7 win against Bethune-Cookman on March 29, 2017, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
