Florida finished the regular season on a high note in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The No. 5 Gators (45-10, 15-9 Southeastern Conference) took the series sweep against the Razorbacks (27-28, 5-19 SEC), winning the finale 5-1 on Sunday.
Hannah Rogers pitched her 20th complete game of the season — the fifth pitcher in the SEC to accomplish that feat in 2014.
After surrendering three runs to the Razorbacks in Game 1 of the series on Friday, the senior right-hander buckled down in the finale.
Rogers gave up just three hits and one earned run against Arkansas on Sunday, striking out five batters while walking two.
On the season, Rogers (23-8) boasts a 1.85 ERA and has pitched a team-high 177.2 innings. The three-time All-American started six of Florida’s last nine SEC contests — all of which were complete games.
“Hannah’s been really throwing the ball well for us,” coach Tim Walton said in a radio interview. “She’s worked hard and is not satisfied with being OK. That’s what this program is built on: hard work and dedication. And I give Hannah a lot of credit. She’s not ready for her season to end.”
The Gators scored four of their five runs on Sunday in the third inning. Sophomore Taylore Fuller started the inning with an infield single and advanced to second on a Kathlyn Medina sac bunt.
Second baseman Kelsey Stewart drove Fuller home with a single up the middle to give Florida a 1-0 lead over Arkansas.
Center fielder Kirsti Merritt grounded out to second base to advance Stewart to third, and Stephanie Tofft drew a walk to give UF runners on the corners.
Junior Lauren Haeger, facing a 1-1 count, then hit her second home run in as many games to deep right-center field to extend Florida’s lead to four.
Arkansas scored their first run since the fifth inning of Game 1 when designated player Devon Wallace drove in Stephanie Canfield with a two-out, RBI single down the right field line.
The Gators tagged on one more run in the sixth frame when Stewart brought Taylor Schwarz home with an infield single.
For the series, the Gators outscored the Razorbacks 24-4 while hitting eight home runs during the three games.
UF learns SEC Tournament seeding: After sweeping Arkansas in its final regular season series, Florida finished in a tie for third place with Missouri and Georgia in the SEC standings and was awarded the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye for the SEC Tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Columbia, South Carolina. UF will face No. 5 seed UGA (42-12, 15-9 SEC) on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Beckham Field.
The Gators faced the Bulldogs in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament on May 11, 2013, cruising to a 9-5 win behind two early Taylor Schwarz home runs and a complete-game effort in the circle by Rogers, who struck out seven batters.
*A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
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The Gators softball team huddles together prior to the start of Florida's 2-0 win against Ole Miss on March 9 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
