After winning back-to-back national championships, Florida entered the 2016 season hoping to pick up where it left off.
On Friday they did just that, as the No. 1 Gators drove in two runs in the first inning to set the scene for an 11-0 win against Illinois State.
The Gators added to their two-run lead with a seven-run spurt in the third inning. Lead-off hitter Taylore Fuller was hit by a pitch, scored on a Nicole DeWitt single and then batted again, singling in seniors Kelsey Stewart and Kirsti Merritt in the same inning.
The Gators got offensive firepower from the bats of Merritt and sophomore Janell Wheaton, who both went 2-for-3 and knocked in two RBIs.
Florida was efficient with its scoring, going 6-for-11 with runners in scoring position, holding its opponent to 0-for-4 in the same situation.
In the circle, junior Delanie Gourley kept the Redbirds out of reach. The southpaw struck out eight batters and held ISU to a single hit in the shutout.
“Delanie threw a good game tonight, despite not having her best stuff, she competed and made pitches when she had too,” UF coach Tim Walton said in a release.
With the win, the Gators extended their streak of season-opening wins to 10 consecutive years.
“Overall moving forward, we will just chalk this up to our first game as we got a bunch of hits and scored a bunch of runs,” Walton said, “but there is still a lot of improvement to be made."
No. 1 Florida will look to carry its momentum into Saturday's matchup against No. 2 Michigan at 11:45 a.m., a rematch of last year’s Women's College World Series Championship.
Delanie Gourley pitches during Florida's 14-10 loss to LSU on March 14, 2015, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
