Through 4.2 innings, Florida had nothing but goose eggs on the board.
Sami Fagan, with one swing of the bat, changed that with her fifth-inning solo shot, helping UF (45-10) defeat LSU (34-22) 1-0 to earn a spot in the Southeastern Conference Semifinals.
No. 7 Florida’s Lauren Haeger was pitted in a pitching duel against LSU’s Brittany Mack for the first four frames of the game until Fagan finally broke through with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to break the 0-0 tie.
A Bailey Castro leadoff walk allowed Fagan to knock in a run. Briana Little pinch ran for Castro and took second base following a sacrifice bunt by Katie Medina. After Kasey Fagan failed to bring in the runner at second, her little sister slapped one past the pitcher to score the game’s only run.
“It was execution, it was perfect,” Haeger said.
The Gators, who earned the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament on the final day of the regular season, split the two regular season matchups against the Tigers. Those two games, played in Gainesville on April 24, were each decided by one run like Thursday’s game.
While Fagan was the hero at the plate for Florida with her clutch hit up the middle in the fifth, Haeger was the Gators’ savior in the circle.
After Hannah Rogers struggled mightily in Florida’s last two regular season games against Alabama, coach Tim Walton desperately needed a strong pitching performance. He got just that from Haeger.
“I’ve always just come in there trying to pick Hannah up,” Haeger said. “But it’s nice to get a start and get a win against LSU, they’re a great team.”
The freshman hurler tossed a complete game two-hitter against the Tigers while striking out eight batters in her first ever collegiate postseason appearance.
