Bailey Castro was feeling generous in the third inning Sunday.
The freshman designated hitter sent two souvenirs over the left-field wall in the same frame, notching six of her school record-tying seven RBI to cap a 10-run third for the Gators.
“I’m just seeing the ball really well,” Castro said. “I was having a good day. I just had a good eye for the ball and I took a couple of good swings.”
Florida’s 10-spot buried Ole Miss early in a 14-3 victory Sunday, capping a three-game sweep.
Defeating the Rebels (16-21, 3-11 Southeastern Conference) marked the Gators’ fourth series sweep in league play this season.
Castro’s two home runs Sunday gave her three total long balls during a weekend in which the UF bats made a lot of noise.
Florida (35-4, 15-2 SEC) scored 28 runs against Ole Miss in three games, continuing its recent hot streak at the plate.
After scoring just three runs in back-to-back losses to USF and Georgia in late March, UF has averaged 9.4 runs per game in its last five contests, all wins.
“We’re very potent,” coach Tim Walton said. “We’re very disciplined at the plate. We don’t swing at a whole lot of bad pitches.”
Florida powered through the weekend with big innings, logging six frames with multiple runs scored.
Consecutive innings with two runs helped Florida top Ole Miss 5-0 on Friday, while a six-run first inning buried the Rebels early in the Gators’ 9-1 win Saturday.
However, the biggest offensive outburst for UF was Sunday’s third frame.
After a leadoff walk by Cheyenne Coyle, Castro came to the plate looking to add to the early 3-0 lead.
Castro connected on the third pitch she saw from Ole Miss hurler Kendall Bruning, marking her second homer off the Rebels senior in three days.
Four runs and a pitching change later, Castro walked up to the plate for the second time that inning with the bases loaded.
Facing a 3-1 count, Castro put the game out of reach, depositing her first career grand slam over the left-field wall to put UF ahead 12-0.
“Bailey’s the type of player that’s going to average probably 20-type home runs per year,” Walton said. “She’s got that kind of capability. Those are the reasons why at the beginning of the year, you’re a little frustrated with some of the lineup production because you’re missing someone like Bailey Castro or Brittany Schutte at full strength.”
The Gators’ stout hitting backed up starting pitcher Alyssa Bache, who retired the first nine batters she faced.
However, Bache (5-0) had a shaky fourth frame, facing seven batters and yielding three earned runs on three hits and a walk.
Despite the rocky inning, Bache remained in the circle for her third complete game of the season, striking out a career-high five batters in Florida’s win.
“[Run support] builds your confidence a lot, especially with the offense that we’ve been having lately,” Bache said. “Even in the first inning, I have confidence that we’re gonna score.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Freshman Bailey Castro led the Gators with a school record-tying seven RBI in UF’s 14 win Sunday against Ole Miss.
