Florida capped its nonconference weekend with a second shutout on Saturday. No. 6 UF (37-8, 8-7 Southeastern Conference) defeated North Carolina State (26-11, 12-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) 10-0 in four and a half innings at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The win extends Florida’s streak to six. The Gators turned things around with a win against Auburn on April 4 to end a four-game losing skid.
In the first inning, the Gators prevent the Wolfpack from getting on base. Starting pitcher Hannah Rogers needed just 12 pitches to retire NC State’s first three batters.
The Lake Wales native earned her 17th win of the season while UF shut out its 13th opponent of the season.
“Hannah going out there and really kind of setting the tone for us with the first three batters of the game and her just really getting after it,” coach Tim Walton said.
Roger’s ended the game with three strikeouts and dropped her ERA to 1.81 on the year. Lauren Haeger relieved Rogers in the fifth inning. She totaled two strikeouts in the single inning she pitched.
“I think Ralph Weekly (Tennessee softball co-head coach) said it the best way: ‘It’s called fast pitch for a reason and so if you don’t fast pitch you’re probably going to have a short season,’” Walton said. “It’s the name of the game. It’s what we have to do. It’s been our strength for a long time and we’re going to have to continue that and if we continue it we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
Florida scored two runs off a Haeger double in the first inning. Briana Little then added three more runs to the board by hitting her second home run of the season.
“She smoked it,” Walton said of Little’s homer. “Again we talk about plans, we talk about executing but there’s a big time execution right there.”
With the momentum of a first inning over the fence home run behind her, Little continued to execute for the Gators. She totaled two runs and three RBIs off two at-bats on Saturday.
“I just went out there looking for a good pitch and then when she threw it I saw it easy and then I just put a good swing on it,” Little said of her homer.
Sophomore Kirsti Merritt led the Gators in scoring with three runs. Merritt is inching closer to being the No. 1 scorer for the Gators; she has 38 runs so far this season—just five behind Kelsey Stewart’s 43.
“She’s a tough out and when she’s got the confidence that she has right now she’s tough out cause she can hit it out of the ballpark, she can hit a triple, she can drop down a bunt,” Walton said. “There’s so many things that kid could do and then you throw in confidence on top of that and she’s dangerous. ”
Next up Florida will take a week off with no midweek games for the first time since the start of February. Then the Gators will take on Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, April 18-20.
“They’re playing really well right now, playing there at their place they’re very passionate about their softball so it’ll be a tough venue for us,” Walton said. “Probably one of the toughest venues we’ve played in this year.”
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
