The Gators left Mississippi with two more wins in their back pocket.
Florida went to Starkville, Miss., to face its first Southeastern Conference opponent in Mississippi State on Wednesday. The Gators survived a couple of close calls against the Bulldogs with strong pitching in the first game and clutch hitting in the second.
Sophomore Hannah Rogers pitched a gem, confusing MSU hitters all day. Rogers (11-0) blanked the Bulldogs for a complete-game victory. She held her Mississippi State to just one hit while fanning eight in the shutout.
However, Florida could not scrape up much offense either to support Rogers against a stout MSU pitching performance. The Gators scored just one run on three hits. Freshman Jess Damico came through with a fifth-inning RBI, which was enough to get coach Tim Walton’s squad its 20th win of the year.
The Gators came right back out against the Bulldogs to snatch the second game of the doubleheader. Walton sent freshman Lauren Haeger to the circle for the start, but she didn’t last long.
Haeger got rocked in just 1.2 innings of work. She gave up just three hits, but five total runs. Although only two runs were earned, Walton pulled Haeger for freshman Alyssa Bache.
Bache (4-0) shut down the Bulldogs for the win, and Rogers came back in a three-inning encore performance to receive her first save of the season.
Florida’s offense came alive, scoring eight runs on 10 hits. Junior Kelsey Horton continued to excel in place of injured catcher Brittany Schutte. Horton hit her ninth homer of the year, which leads the team.
Sophomore Kasey Fagan also shined, going 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead the team. She drove in half as many runners as she has all year in just one game against MSU.
Florida will take on Tennessee next in Knoxville, Tenn., for a three-game weekend series starting on Friday.
