For the first time in a year, the Florida softball team is no longer No. 1.
After a lackluster series against Alabama in which the Gators dropped two of three games, only scored four runs and recorded 13 hits, the team fell to number No. 2.
"I think losses can help humble you," junior Delanie Gourley said.
"You never have to stop working. You never have to get rid of that … drive to win, and so I think losses can help get you back there."
Offensively, the Gators (34-3, 9-3 Southeastern Conference) struggled mightily against the Crimson Tide (31-7, 5-4 SEC) and their ace, junior Sydney Littlejohn.
She proved to be a riddle that Florida’s hitters could not solve, allowing a lone run and scattering seven hits over 13.1 dominant innings.
"We just made mistakes," coach Tim Walton said.
"And when you make mistakes, you give up runs, whether they’re pitches, whether they’re defensive plays (or) offensively."
Sunday’s 3-0 defeat marked the first time Florida has been shut out at home in two years.
"We just weren’t able to really get much going. Didn’t have any clutch hits hardly at all, and I thought overall they just outplayed us," Walton said.
However, one of the few offensive bright spots this weekend was cleanup hitter Amanda Lorenz. The freshman went 4-for-8 with an RBI in the series.
After experiencing a slump at the commencement of conference play, Lorenz — who is currently riding a four-game hitting streak — raised her batting average to .404, second best on the team.
"We learned a lot about ourselves this weekend," she said.
"It’s just motivation to work harder and we’ll see how we respond to it."
Florida does not have much time to figure things out, as it faces UCF tonight at 6 in Orlando.
Historically, though, the Gators have experienced success against the Knights, compiling a 17-4 all-time record.
Since the start of 2013, Florida has won 116 of 118 non-conference matchups — a staggering .983 winning percentage — and is 27-1 against in-state opponents since 2014.
The matchup with UCF is the first stop on a four-game road trip. The Gators will also travel to Oxford for a series against Ole Miss this weekend.
"It’s a long season," Walton said.
"Last year at this point in time we were 8-4 (in conference play), this year we’re 9-3, (five) years ago we were (6-6). So I think we’re really not in a bad position.
"I’ll take that every time."
Contact Brian Lee at blee@alligator.org and you can follow him on Twitter @brianlee_17.
Delanie Gourley pitches during Florida's 14-10 loss to LSU on March 14, 2015, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
