The Gators were feeling 22 on Wednesday night.
No. 1 Florida defeated Long Beach State 10-1 at the 49er Softball Complex in Long Beach, California, improving its season win streak to 22 in a row.
The 22-game win streak ties last season’s win streak for the second longest win streak to open the season in Florida history – the longest was 24 in 2011.
Junior Kelsey Stewart and senior Lauren Haeger led the offensive charge for the Gators as the two combined to go 3-for-8 with five runs and five RBIs.
Stewart led off the game with a double and scored on a bases-loaded walk from Taylore Fuller. After Haeger scored on a wild pitch, Aubree Munro plated Bailey Castro with an RBI single up the middle to give the Gators a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
Long Beach State’s lone run came in the bottom of the first inning. After Shayna Kimbrough tripled off UF pitcher Aleshia Ocasio to lead off the inning, LT Torres brought her home with a single to left field.
Ocasio allowed two hits after that in her six innings of work as she improved to 7-0. The freshman finished with a game-high eight strikeouts in the win.
The Gators tacked on a run in the second inning when Stewart scored from second base on a throwing error by the 49ers catcher. The Wichita, Kansas, native finished the game 2-4 with three runs, two RBIs and a stolen base.
Haeger busted open the game with a three-run home run as part of a four-run sixth inning that pushed the score to 8-0. The dinger was Haeger’s team-leading seventh blast of the season, and the Peoria, Arizona, native finished the game 1-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs.
Florida tallied two more runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run double off the center-field wall from Stewart.
The Gators will have a chance to tie the program record 24-game win streak to open a season as they play No. 3 Michigan and San Jose State Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. ET, respectively.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @pinakk12
Lauren Haeger rounds the bases after hitting a home run during Florida's 7-1 win against Kansas at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
