It was the tale of two wins Friday for No. 2 Florida.
After flexing its muscle in a 13-4 win against Valparaiso, the Gators (16-0) edged Syracuse 2-0 in a classic pitchers duel ultimately conquered by UF freshman Hannah Rogers.
Jenna Caira, Syracuse’s career leader in strikeouts per seven innings, kept Florida’s hitters off balance most of the night.
Blending her off-speed pitches, the junior allowed two runs on six hits, while striking out five.
But, Rogers was simply dominant.
The righty recorded her fourth shutout in six starts, allowing only three hits while striking out nine.
The victory was her seventh of the season, and she lowered her earned run average to a team-leading 0.41.
UF got a scare in the top of the third when catcher Tiffany DeFelice was nailed in the helmet by Jasmine Watson’s bat after she struck out.
DeFelice left the game and was replaced by sophomore Brittany Schutte, who played catcher against Valparaiso.
While the offense struggled against Caira, it had no problems against Valparaiso.
The Gators’ success at the plate forced the Crusaders to use four pitchers in an attempt to slow the attack.
The strategy didn’t have much effect.
UF’s 1-4 hitters went 9 for 17 at the plate, combining for nine RBIs.
After Ensley Gammel surrendered two runs in the first inning, Florida wasted no time getting on the board.
Schutte set the tone by crushing a home run to right field to leadoff an eight-run second inning.
Later, Schutte stepped to the plate with two runners on base and crushed her second homer of the inning.
Florida tacked on three more runs in the third when Samantha Holle homered and Aja Paculba and Kelsey Bruder hit back-to-back RBI singles.
While Gammel didn’t impress in her first start, Stephanie Brombacher pitched well in relief.
The senior replaced Gammel in the second inning and tossed 5.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out 10.
