Even the No. 1 team in the nation can stumble out of the gate.
The UF softball team won the first two games of its three-game series against Baylor at home this weekend but fell 1-0 on Sunday in Game 3.
The Gators (2-1) outscored the Bears (1-2) by 10 runs over the weekend, but Baylor freshman pitcher Whitney Canion (1-1) struck out 10 batters and held UF to three hits in seven scoreless innings in Game 3.
"We're going to have to hit. We can't get shut out," UF coach Tim Walton said. "There's no way a team like this, with the offense we have, gets shut out. I think that's where I put all the blame and all the guilt - it's on the nine hitters in the lineup who didn't come through today."
Senior pitcher Stacey Nelson (1-1) only gave up one hit on the day, but the Bears capitalized on two costly fifth-inning errors by the Gators and took a one-run lead from which UF could not recover.
"It's always disappointing when you lose, but I'm not going to freak out about one loss in the first weekend of the season," Nelson said.
UF had its best chance to score in the first inning with Kim Waleszonia on third and Aja Paculba on second after a sacrifice bunt by Ali Gardiner. Canion responded by forcing Francesca Enea to foul out and striking out designated hitter Tiffany DeFelice.
Waleszonia attributed the team's lack of offensive production to the hitters not adjusting to what they saw from Canion on Friday night or in their first at-bats Sunday.
When asked what he would tell his hitters after the game, Walton noted the excellent pitching of Baylor's ace, who held the Gators to just seven hits and one earned run in her 13 innings of work over the weekend.
"(I would tell my team) we don't face Whitney Canion again until maybe the end of the season, so good job and good luck," Walton said. "Everybody's going to be gunning for you all year long, and this is what it's going to be like."
The Gators also struggled at the plate against Canion in Game 1 but prevailed 3-0 thanks to Kelsey Bruder's fourth-inning home run and some unconventional scoring.
Enea crossed home plate on a passed ball in the second inning, and catcher Kristina Hilberth put UF up by 2 on another passed ball when Canion attempted to intentionally walk Enea in the bottom of the third.
Nelson threw her 37th career shutout, struck out eight and only walked one batter despite giving up two hits to the first two Bears she faced Friday.
"I wish I could say it was jitters. I think I was just missing my spots," Nelson said after Game 1. "I wasn't really in game mode yet. I wasn't jittery, but I needed to settle down and get into my zone."
UF appeared to be back on track Saturday in Game 2, scoring 8 runs on nine hits while sophomore Stephanie Brombacher (1-0) pitched six scoreless innings. Enea jump-started the offense by sending the first pitch she saw straight out of center field for a 3-run homer.
