Lauren Haeger had never homered in the Women’s College World Series — until today.
In her ninth career game in the WCWS, Haeger jumped on a 2-2 fastball from Tennessee’s Rainey Gaffin in the first inning and lined it to left for a solo home run to put Florida up 1-0.
Haeger’s home run would catapult Florida as the No. 1-seeded Gators (56-6) defeated No. 8 Tennessee (47-16) 7-2 in the first game of the WCWS at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
“It feels great,” Haeger said. “This is my third trip back and I was hoping finally it would come, but it was great to start the game off that way.”
Haeger finished the game 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs scored. The senior’s career average at the WCWS now sits at .281.
Following Haeger’s bomb in the first, the Gators struggled a bit with runners in scoring position.
UF loaded the bases before freshman Kayli Kvistad grounded out to end the inning.
The Gators experienced some déjà vu in the second inning.
Tennessee loaded the bases after an intentional walk to Haeger, but Bailey Castro struck out swinging to end the threat.
In the third inning, Kvistad sought revenge after her poor first at-bat.
Kvistad turned on an Erin Gabriel fastball and sent it into the stands in right-center field for a two-run home run to give UF a 3-0 lead.
In the circle, Haeger cruised through the first three innings, retiring all nine batters she faced.
But in the fourth, Haeger ran into trouble.
Haeger drilled Shaliyah Geathers with a pitch before Megan Geer blasted a two-run homer into the left field bleachers to cut Florida’s lead to 3-2.
The Gators added two runs in the fourth inning to push the score to 5-2.
Haeger started the rally with a one-out single through the left side, and Castro was hit by a pitch to bring Kirsti Merritt to the plate.
Merritt hit a ball sharply beneath the second baseman’s glove to bring home Haeger. Then moments later Merritt stole second. The throw from Tennessee catcher Annie Aldrete ricocheted off Merritt into left field, scoring Castro from third base.
The Gators tacked on two more insurance runs in the sixth inning.
Kelsey Stewart singled and later swiped third base before scoring on another throwing error from Aldrete. Pinch-running for Haeger, Jessica Damico scored from third on a Castro bunt single to plate Florida’s seventh and final run.
Haeger improved to 29-1 with the victory after tossing all seven innings, allowing two runs on one hit while striking out four batters.
Haeger said she liked the way the Gators played in this early game.
“We just came out and did our thing,” she said. “We played aggressively, we played hard, [and] we did what we needed to do to get runners on base.”
Florida advances to the winner’s bracket and will play the winner of LSU and Auburn on Friday.
A television broadcast contributed to this report.
Follow Patrick Pinak on Twitter @Pinakk12
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.
