It was supposed to be a clash between the two top teams in the country — a rematch of last season’s dramatic Women’s College World Series — when No. 1 Florida squared off against No. 2 Michigan in the USF Wilson-DeMarini Tournament in Tampa on Saturday.
However, the matchup didn’t live up to its hype.
Florida crushed the Wolverines 8-0 in five innings via run rule. Saturday marked the first time the Gators have run-ruled the Wolverines in the program’s 18-game history.
A big contributor to the Gators’ dominance was freshman pitcher Kelly Barnhill, who gave up no runs and just 3 hits — all singles — while allowing only one runner into scoring position in her first collegiate start.
It was the third consecutive year that UF coach Tim Walton sent out a freshman to the circle against the Wolverines in an early season matchup. In 2014, he sent out Delanie Gourley and last season Aleshia Ocasio got the start.
“It was good to see Kelly [Barnhill] get out there and pitch,” Walton said. “It was her first college game she shutout one of the better hitting teams in the country, if not the best hitting team in the country. I thought she did a really good job of mixing her speeds and locations.”
The Gators took the lead in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back, building a 3-0 advantage early.
Senior leadoff-hitter Kelsey Stewart walked to open the game, and then scored on a single by freshman left-fielder Amanda Lorenz, who recorded her first collegiate hit and RBI in her opening at-bat.
Lorenz had three of Florida’s nine hits on the day, all of which were singles.
Seniors Kirsti Merrit and Taylore Fuller were able to score later in the inning due to a pair of errant throws by Michigan’s defense.
UF scored once more in the bottom of the third, padding its lead to 7-0.
Sophomore Nicole DeWitt finished the scoring onslaught for the Gators when she drove in Lorenz in the bottom of the fourth, bringing the game to 8-0.
The Gators received tremendous production from the bottom of their lineup.
DeWitt, designated hitter Kayli Kvistad, senior catcher Aubree Munro and junior right-fielder Justine McLean, Florida’s six through nine hitters, combined to drive in seven of UF’s eight runs.
“Overall, we just had some clutch hitting. Being able to get that many RBI from the bottom of your lineup is great,” Walton said.
“I really like the balance we have in our lineup right now. We have a lot of tough outs and we’re hitting the ball to all fields. We did the little things today, which I thought propelled us to have some big innings.”
Contact Brian Lee at blee@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @brianlee_17.
Taylore Fuller fist-bumps coach Tim Walton as she rounds third base after hitting a home run on May 18 against USF.
