Kelly Barnhill hogged the spotlight on Sunday.
The freshman phenom bore through the Razorbacks’ bats as she finished her first regular season with a bang, throwing her first no hitter and improving to 15-0 as she led the Gators to their third-straight shutout over Arkansas, 8-0, in five innings.
“I’ve been struggling the last couple of games,” Barnhill said in a release, “and, to come out like this, it’s a relief that all the hard work I’ve been putting in with (Jennifer) Rocha and the catchers in the bullpen has been paying off.”
No. 1 Florida (52-4, 20-4 Southeastern Conference) run-ruled Arkansas (17-39, 1-23 SEC) in its regular-season finale Sunday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Barnhill allowed only two hitters to reach base via a walk and a hit batter, striking out 10 of the 16 Razorbacks she faced. She became the third Florida freshman to throw a no-hitter.
“If you’re 0-1 against Kelly Barnhill, it’s going to be a tough road for you,” coach Tim Walton said in a release. “Today she had hitters 0-1 a lot. That was the reason for success.”
After Barnhill struck out the side in the top of the first, the Gators unleashed a four-run burst in the bottom half of the inning.
After a leadoff walk and single put runners on first and second, sophomore Kayli Kvistad reached on a fielder’s choice. An error on behalf of Arkansas’ pitcher Grace Moll let each runner move up a base, allowing leadoff hitter Kelsey Stewart to score and giving the Gators a 1-0 lead before the Razorbacks had recorded an out.
With runners on second and third, senior Kirsti Merritt singled into center to drive in another run and then stole second to put runners on second and third once again.
Sophomore Nicole DeWitt was hit by pitch on a full-count to load the bases, and Moll threw a wild pitch to junior Justine McLean, giving Kvistad the chance to score.
As senior Taylore Fuller flew out to left for Florida’s first out, Merritt tagged up from third and gave the Gators a 4-0 edge.
McLean extended Florida’s lead to 5-0 in the second inning, when she recorded an infield hit with two outs and runners on first and third.
Arkansas tightened up in the third and fourth innings, holding Florida’s offense to no runs and no hits for the time being.
But the Razorbacks’ defense couldn’t hold up forever.
Amanda Lorenz, UF’s freshman who leads the team with 65 hits in 56 games, stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the fifth.
The freshman turned on a 2-2 pitch and singled to left field, driving in two runs
The next batter was sophomore Aleshia Ocasio, a pitcher with just 22 at bats on the season, who hit a walk-off single to center to drive in senior Kelsey Stewart for the win.
“(Barnhill) was having a great time out there today,” Walton said. “I’m proud of her; she’s a competitor and she wants the ball. But to understand what it’s like to be a freshman pitching is hard.
“And I don’t ever want to tell her that it’s easy, but she made it look a lot easier today than she has.”
Barnhill’s no-hitter was Florida’s fourth of the year — a program record.
Ocasio, Barnhill and Delanie Gourley became the first pitching trio in UF history to each record at least 15 wins.
With Florida’s regular season in the books, UF will head to Starkville, Mississippi, to compete in the SEC tournament. Florida will play at 4 p.m. Thursday against the winner of the Ole Miss-Georgia game.
“It’s so funny, I took a picture of all my championship rings last night and it just really started to soak in,” Walton said. “Each ring, I look and I see the faces, some smiles, a couple tears, some losses in those rings.
“To be able to go 52-4 in the regular season, I see all those seniors and their smiling faces, the Kelly Barnhill’s and Amanda Lorenz’s that bought into what we were selling a few years ago. It’s a very special feeling to have our team just playing well and being very consistent.”
Kelly Barnhill pitches during the second game of UF's doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville on Feb. 27, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
