No. 6 Florida held a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh inning against No. 8 Florida State in Tallahassee on Wednesday.
Seminoles pitcher Lacey Waldrop, who was second in the nation with a 0.70 ERA heading into the contest, gave up only two hits while striking out seven batters heading into the final frame.
But with two outs and Stephanie Tofft on second base, junior Bailey Castro pinch hit for Kathlyn Medina.
With Florida hoping to put some insurance runs on the board, Castro delivered.
Facing a 3-1 count, the Pembroke Pines native belted a home run to left-center field to lift the Gators to a 4-1 lead over the Seminoles.
Florida’s defense gave up a second run in the bottom of the final frame, but the Gators (35-8, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) ultimately ended up winning the contest against the Seminoles (38-5, 14-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) 4-2 at JoAnne Graf Field.
“Bailey’s hit obviously really helped us because we kind of fell apart there in the end,” coach Tim Walton said in a radio interview.
“But overall, that’s the name of the game. … Sometimes nerves get the best of you. The team that gets the most hits with runners in scoring position typically is going to be the team that wins.”
After three scoreless innings, which included just one hit and five total strikeouts, Florida found success in the fourth frame.
Kelsey Stewart opened the inning by grounding out to third, but Briana Little drew a five-pitch walk to give the Gators a baserunner. Sophomore Kirsti Merritt followed Little with a single to left-center field.
Lauren Haeger subsequently struck out, but Tofft took a full-count walk at the next at-bat to load the bases.
Taylor Schwarz took care of business from there.
Facing a 1-1 count, the Palm Beach Gardens native ripped the ball through the left side to score Little and Merritt and put Florida on the board first.
With the single, Schwarz became the fifth Florida batter this season to accumulate 25 RBIs.
Even though the offense only logged three hits on the night, Walton thought the Gators made plays when they needed to.
“On offense, we got a couple good hits,” Walton said.
“Schwarz got a really nice one and Bailey’s pinch hit was really clutch.”
In the circle, Hannah Rogers earned her 17th win of the season after throwing her 13th complete game this season.
The Lake Wales native gave up just five hits and struck out four batters to bring her total to 99 on the season.
“Hannah was the biggest difference,” Walton said. “I mean, she had some good stuff tonight, really made pitches when she had to. She gave up a couple walks, but really got on some hands, got some balls off the end of the bat and really commanded the zone.”
Florida, now riding a four-game win streak, will look to keep its momentum going into non-conference matchups against Florida A&M on Friday and North Carolina State on Saturday.
“We’re playing, and I think that’s important,” Walton said.
“We’re not just going about practice and doing intersquads. We’re getting on the field. … At the end of the day, the most important part for our players is just to stay in shape and keep their eyes and their timing right for the next series we have to play.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Hannah Rogers pitches during Florida’s 8-0 win against Indiana on Feb. 22 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
