In an evening full of dramatic hits, No. 2 Florida (30-2, 7-1
Southeastern Conference) came up just short.
After engaging in a near three-hour tug-of-war battle with No. 3
Georgia (25-4, 6-3 SEC), the Gators fell to the hot-hitting
Bulldogs 10-7 in only their second loss of the year.
Already without senior ace Stephanie Brombacher, Florida was also
missing star freshman Hannah Rogers, who was suspended after being
ejected against Ole Miss Sunday.
Making only her second start of the season, Ensley Gammel had an
inconsistent day at best.
The sophomore allowed 10 runs on nine walks and 12 hits in seven
innings of work.
While the numbers didn’t look great, she did hold the Bulldogs to
one run through the first four innings before running into trouble
in the fifth.
“If you look at 10 of their runs about seven of them were scored
with two outs,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “She didn’t throw enough
quality pitches late in the game, but she gave us everything she
had and then some.”
The Gators’ typically strong lineup had some uncharacteristic early
struggles as five of the first six batters struck out against
Georgia starter Alison Owen.
Down 6-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, Walton gathered his
players on the third baseline and lit a fire under his squad.
Setting the tone, senior Megan Bush and freshman Cheyenne Coyle
jump-started UF’s comeback with back-to-back homers.
However, the biggest shot of the inning came from the red-hot bat
of Kelsey Bruder.
After fans seemed dejected by the Gators’ deficit, Bruder brought
the crowd to its feet with a towering three-run shot to right to
tie the game.
In the sixth, Bush had a repeat performance with a leadoff
line-drive shot to left to give the Gators a chance at a major
comeback victory.
But with one swing of the bat, the Bulldogs stole the
spotlight.
Right fielder Brianna Hesson’s three-run homer in the top of the
seventh crushed Florida’s chances, and UF was unable to stage
another comeback.
Despite the tough loss, Walton was pleased with his team’s
resiliency considering it was without its two best pitchers.
“If the polls are correct and those are the No. 2 and No. 3 teams
in the country, I feel good about where we’re at,” he said.
