The UF softball team isn't used to losing.
The Gators (34-3, 13-1 Southeastern Conference) are 104-8 in the last two years, and they have not lost back-to-back games in that span.
After dropping Game 3 of its series against No. 5 Alabama on Sunday, No. 1 UF will hit the road to take on Auburn (25-10, 5-4 SEC) in Auburn, Ala., in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m.
"It was a tough loss," pitcher Stacey Nelson said of the series finale against Alabama. "In the past couple years, we're not accustomed to losses."
If last year was any indication, however, the Gators might not experience a similar defeat for the rest of the conference season. UF finished 27-1 in SEC play last season after a 1-0 loss to Alabama on March 12, 2008, the team's fourth conference game of the year.
After that setback, UF reeled off 37 straight wins. With their first conference loss of this season now behind them, the Gators are looking to match their success from last year.
"We're a great team. We're going to bounce back," catcher Kristina Hilberth said. "We've got to take care of Auburn, and we're just hopefully going to get better and start a new winning streak on Wednesday."
To get the new streak started, UF will have to play better defense than it did in Sunday's loss. The Gators were outstanding defensively in their two wins against the Crimson Tide on Saturday, as they committed no errors, allowed only 2 runs on the day and worked out of two bases-loaded situations.
UF recorded two errors in Sunday's loss alone - an uncharacteristic statistic for a team that has just 20 errors through 37 games. In addition to the two errors, the Gators missed several more opportunities in the field that could have swung the momentum of the game.
"We just didn't play defense like we can and like we needed to," Hilberth said. "We had two errors, but if you think about the mistakes that we made, there was much more than two mistakes. That's just what goes down in the books."
UF coach Tim Walton echoed his catcher's sentiment, adding that his team did not capitalize on the opportunities it had in the first 6 1/2 innings.
"We didn't make plays," Walton said. "We didn't do a very good job on defense. Ultimately, defense wins championships and wins ball games for you, but we just didn't make plays."
Walton added that he was happy with the poise and composure his team displayed at the plate in its rally in the bottom of the seventh against the Tide, and his hitters will need to continue at that pace against the Tigers today.
Although they are not on the same level as Alabama's Kelsi Dunne, who struck out 13 batters Sunday, Auburn has two starting pitchers who allow fewer than 2 earned runs per game.
Junior Anna Thompson (12-6, 1.45 ERA) and freshman Jenee Loree (10-3, 1.94 ERA) will likely start a game each against the Gators.
"They're good. They've got good pitching, and when you have good pitching, you're always in the ballgame," Walton said. "So we're going to have to do a good job making adjustments."
