Good things are coming in threes for the Gators these days.
In the newest rankings, UF passed UCLA to take the No. 3 position, right behind Southeastern Conference foe Alabama and Arizona State.
"It's awesome," third baseman Corrie Brooks said. "It's the highest we've ever been ranked, so other teams are going to be looking to beat us."
Wednesday night Iowa came to Gainesville to do its best to knock off the Gators.
Behind a solid pitching performance by three different Gators, UF (32-2, 7-1 SEC) earned a hard-fought 6-1 victory against the Hawkeyes (18-9).
Freshman Stephanie Brombacher (12-0) kept her unblemished record intact, pitching five innings and allowing just one run.
Brombacher, who had a stellar non-conference season, has pitched extremely well as the opposition has become tougher.
"Last week was her best week of the year," UF coach Tim Walton said. "She didn't shut anybody out, but she pitched her best games of the year."
Freshmen Kelsey Bruder and Kristen Adkins pitched the sixth and seventh, respectively, without allowing a run.
Offensively, the Gators broke open the game in the second inning by utilizing the three-bagger.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Brooks came to the plate and ripped a triple into the right-center field gap.
"You never want to leave runners on, especially with the bases loaded," Brooks said.
Junior Kim Waleszonia came up next and hit a triple of her own - this one into the other gap - scoring Brooks from third.
UF would add one more run in the inning when Waleszonia crossed the plate in a double steal.
In the fifth inning, second baseman Aja Paculba drove in Brooks for the sixth Gators run.
Paculba, who wears No. 3 for the Gators, had another strong game coming off an SEC Freshman of the Week selection.
She led the team with a .438 batting average against Alabama and Arkansas.
She reached base in every game and drove in two game-winning RBIs against the Razorbacks and scored a game-winning run in the three game sweep of Arkansas.
"It's an awesome feeling," Paculba said. "I called my mom right away."
After the game, Walton was quick to deny the theory that the game against Iowa and the upcoming weekend series against Longwood (17-7) are breaks from the tough SEC schedule.
But with a sweep against the Lancers and a slip up by Alabama or Arizona State, the Gators could be looking at good things coming in twos or ones - like a national ranking.
