KNOXVILLE, Tenn. &ndash After overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the first inning, the Gators left no doubt that they are the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference.
Left fielder Francesca Enea set new school records for single-season (65) and career (151) RBIs, and No. 1 UF (54-3) quickly bounced back from a shaky start to beat No. 18 Tennessee (38-16-1) 11-3 and earn a spot in the SEC Tournament Championship against Alabama.
"That's just kind of what our team is like. They scored 3, and we just wanted to answer back so they know they can't hang around with us," Enea said. "It's what we're going to do. We're going to score runs and give our pitchers as much support as possible. That's the type of team we are."
The Volunteers struck first with 3 unearned runs on Brombacher. Tennessee recorded just two hits in the inning, but an error by shortstop Megan Bush and two walks by Brombacher gave the Volunteers plenty of chances to score.
Walton was impressed with his team's ability to come back early in the game, a situation they barely ever faced during the regular season.
"We learned something about our team tonight. No matter what the score is, we can come back from it," UF coach Tim Walton said. "I thought we fought well. I think Aja (Paculba) actually cracked a smile and fist-pumped for the first time in her career. I really took it as a positive. We got fired up and answered."
The Gators responded with four home runs, including first baseman Ali Gardiner's 2-run bomb to left field in the bottom of the first, which started off an instant comeback for her team. Corrie Brooks added an RBI triple, and Bush drove her in with a single to center to put UF ahead 4-3 at the end of the inning.
Stacey Nelson (34-3, 0.35 ERA) took the ball in the top of the second, and she finished out the game for UF, allowing just two hits in four innings of work.
Walton said he replaced Brombacher with his senior ace, who pitched the day before against Auburn, because he had to capitalize on the way his hitters took control of the game in the bottom of the inning.
"What I told Stephanie was that we fought so hard to come back like that, that we can't give up another run," Walton said. "We can't give up the momentum that our offense just fought so hard to get back. At that point in time, I felt really handcuffed."
The other three homers came in back-to-back-to-back at-bats by Enea, Bruder and Brooks in the second inning. With 8 runs in the first two innings, the Gators turned what could have potentially been a close game into yet another record-setting rout.
UF's four home runs doubled the previous SEC Tournament single-game home run record, and the team's 11 runs tied the tournament record for most runs in a single game.
While UF dominated its competition Friday, second-seeded Alabama struggled to put away Kentucky. The Crimson Tide, ranked No. 5 in the nation, needed eight innings and a walk-off home run to get the win over the Wildcats.
Still, the Gators are expecting the Tide to look more like the team that beat them 6-4 earlier this year. Nelson will get the start tomorrow against Alabama's Kelsi Dunne, who pitched Alabama to victory against UF in the final game of their three-game series in Gainesville.
"They're always a tough team. Kelsi Dunne is a hard pitcher to hit," Enea said. "We're just going to start mentally preparing tonight and do what we have to do to try and come out with a W tomorrow."
