The Gators went nine innings before scoring a run in their first game Saturday. In the first inning of their next game, Francesca Enea put 2 runs on the board with one swing.
Enea homered twice, breaking the school career home-run record, and No. 1 UF (42-3, 20-1 Southeastern Conference) swept its doubleheader against Kentucky (25-16, 8-11 SEC) in Lexington, Ky.
After hitting the 36th and 37th home runs of her career in Game 2, Enea was predictably humble about shattering the school record - previously held by Lindsey Cameron - in just two and a half years at UF.
"I'm really excited I got to do that, but it's not that big of a deal," Enea said.
The junior left fielder's two-home-run performance in Game 2 was a drastic change from the way UF struggled at the plate in Game 1. Wildcats pitcher Rachel Riley threw a nine-inning, one-hit game, holding the Gators without a hit through eight innings.
Ali Gardiner recorded the first hit off Riley in the top of the ninth, and right fielder Kelsey Bruder's sacrifice fly drove home pinch runner Le-Net Franklin for the deciding run.
"We just kept hitting grounder after grounder after grounder, and I think the first fly ball in the air was Kelsey's," Enea said. "It was so big for Kelsey to make the adjustment and get the run for us."
Senior pitcher Stacey Nelson (25-3, 0.45 ERA) shut out Kentucky in UF's 1-0 victory, striking out 12 batters. Nelson gave up five hits but pitched out of several situations where Kentucky had runners in scoring position.
"When I saw how good their pitcher was doing, I knew that I needed to pitch a shutout, or else we might not get away from that game with a win," Nelson said.
Sophomore Stephanie Brombacher (17-0, 0.96 ERA) followed up Nelson's performance with a 12-strikeout game of her own in the second half of the doubleheader. Brombacher gave up only three hits and walked no batters in UF's 6-0 win.
Brombacher had a more productive Gators offense to back her up in Game 2. Led by Enea's first-inning home run to left field, UF jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Enea added the record-breaking home run, her 14th of the season, in the fifth inning.
"We were all just a little frustrated with our swings and wondering why we weren't getting our hits, so I think going into the second game, we just wanted to put the first game behind us and do what we know how to do and play the way we know how to play," Enea said.
UF and Kentucky were originally slated to play a three-game series, starting with a Friday doubleheader and a single game on Saturday, but rain forced the switch to a doubleheader Saturday.
The weather may have caused an unexpected change in plans Friday, but it also made the Gators more eager to get on the field.
"We were kind of antsy because we'd been sitting in a hotel the whole day before, so we were ready to go out and play," Nelson said.
