When Florida and Florida International squared off on April 20, the Gators were only able to bring a trio of runs across the plate in an 8-3 loss.
Sunday, they bested that total before FIU even recorded an out, and it only took one swing.
Freshman Brittany Schutte’s first inning grand slam gave No. 4 Florida (46-8) a 5-0 lead it would never relinquish as the Gators cruised to a five-inning 13-3 run-rule victory over FIU (38-21) in the final of Gainesville’s NCAA Tournament Regional.
The grand slam, which was the first of Schutte’s career and the team’s tenth this season, proved to be more than enough run support for junior ace Stephanie Brombacher, who pitched her third complete game in as many days.
“The first five runs of the game were huge for momentum and Stephanie carried that momentum through,” UF coach Tim Walton said.
Brombacher allowed only 11 base runners and three runs in her 19 innings of work during the regional.
The junior also struck out 26 batters in that span, including seven on Sunday.
“The way she’s been pitching the last two games, I gotta give her the ball,” Walton said. “She had to have the ball today and she really pitched well.”
The Golden Panthers scored two in the bottom of the first to cut the Gators’ lead to three, but that would be as close as they would get as senior Corrie Brooks pushed the edge back to five in the third with a two run home run to left.
The homer was Brooks’ ninth of the season and the team’s record-high 100th.
“It’s just about the way we practice and the way we mentally approach hitting one through nine,” Walton said. “When your eight-hole hitter hits a 270-foot home run and does it regularly, it’s like Brittany Schutte said, you just feed off of each other and keep on building momentum and that’s how we’re able to hit so many.”
Junior Megan Bush also had a big day at the plate for UF, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs.
The loss was the worst of the season for FIU, as the Golden Panthers had not been the victims of the run-rule prior to Sunday.
With the win, Florida moves on to the NCAA Super Regional round of 16, where it will face off against No. 13 Arizona State in a three-game series this weekend in Gainesville. Times for that series are yet to be determined.
