With an assist from teammate Aja Paculba, Megan Bush didn’t need long to rewrite the record books.
After tying former Gator Francesca Enea’s Southeastern Conference career home run record in Saturday’s 8-1 win against Arkansas, Bush cemented her place in league history with her 62nd longball as No. 10 Florida (33-7, 10-6 SEC) completed the sweep with an 8-0 shutout against Arkansas (10-32, 1-18 SEC).
Without any bats to her liking Sunday, Bush borrowed Paculba’s. And the shared bat worked equally well for both.
Paculba homered to left in the first inning before Bush crushed her record-breaking shot to lead off the third.
“It feels good now that it’s completely lifted off my shoulders,” Bush said. “It’s fun to leave here knowing I did something and that I can step up and play with some of the great players that have been in our program.”
Bush’s fellow seniors, who saw Enea break the record last year, couldn’t have been any happier to see a clubhouse favorite set the new mark.
“Megan’s one of my best friends and a hard worker,” left fielder Kelsey Bruder said. “I’m so excited for the record to be hers now.”
Along with Bush and Paculba, the Gators’ lineup flexed its muscle with a three-run homer by shortstop Cheyenne Coyle and a game-ending shot by Bruder.
With catcher Tiffany DeFelice turning over the lineup and UF’s Nos. 1-5 hitters providing the punch, the offense scored 20 runs in the three-game sweep after scoring only 23 during its six-game losing streak coming into the weekend.
They stranded six runners the first two innings, but the Gators improved and capitalized on run-scoring opportunities the rest of the way.
“It’s really important to not get caught up in, ‘What I’ve done wrong,’” UF coach Tim Walton said. “They give you three outs for a reason. It’s important to use them all.”
Lost amid Bush’s historic day was a bounce-back performance by Hannah Rogers.
After dropping four straight starts, the freshman picked up three wins this weekend, highlighted by Sunday’s two-hit shutout.
The freshman righty pitched six innings and stuck out seven batters en route to her 19th win.
“She got better as the game went along,” Walton said. “She did a good job hammering her pitches that were working, whether they were their weaknesses or their strengths.”
