The Florida softball team is headed back to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series.
The Gators clinched their berth back to the WCWS after beating the Kentucky Wildcats during the Gainesville Super Regional over the weekend.
Lauren Haeger took center stage as she pitched two complete game shutouts against the Wildcats to improve to 28-1 on the season.
On Saturday, Haeger allowed just two hits while striking out six in seven innings.
UF scored four runs in the first inning off of Kentucky pitcher Kelsey Nunley, who eventually settled down and not allow another run in the game in five innings.
Haeger added her 16th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth and Kirsti Merritt hit another home run two batters later as the Gators cruised to a 7-0 win on Saturday.
But the second game of the series would be much closer.
It was more of a pitcher’s duel as Haeger and Nunley faced off for the second consecutive day and the fourth time on the season.
Both pitchers tossed complete games with the game remaining scoreless until the top of the fourth inning.
With Taylore Fuller on third base, Justine McLean chopped a ball to Kentucky shortstop Christian Stokes who bobbled the ball and had no chance of throwing out Fuller at home or McLean at first.
It ended up being the only run of the game and the Gators went on to win 1-0, riding Haeger as she improved to 4-0 against Kentucky on the season.
Haeger dominated the Wildcats in the four times she faced them, allowing just nine hits and zero runs over four games.
During the Super Regionals, Kentucky had five hits with three of them coming on Sunday. The three hits were the most the Wildcats had in a game against Haeger during the season and all of them came within the first three innings of the game.
With her performance during the weekend in the circle and in the batter’s box, coach Tim Walton thinks Haeger solidified her status as the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.
The Peoria, Arizona, native is one of three finalists for the award, which will be announced today by the Amateur Softball Association of America.
Florida opens the WCWS on Thursday at noon on ESPN against the Tennessee Volunteers.
The two teams didn’t meet during the regular season, but the Volunteers beat the Gators in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament 2-1 on May 8 — the only loss Haeger has on her record this season.
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UF's Lauren Haeger pitches during Florida softball's 1-0 win against Florida Atlantic during the NCAA Regional finals on May 17, 2015, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
