On Friday, the No. 3 Florida softball team faced two opponents ranked in the top-25.
No. 23 Cal and No. 7 UCLA could do nothing to halt the Gators, as the two teams struggled to find any rhythm.
Saturday proved to be an unsuspected challenge, as Florida defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 7-4 in a hard fought battle to close out the Gators tenure at the Judi Garman Classic.
The Wildcats were just 6-10 entering the game, but had plenty of experience against top-tier opponents already under their belt. Northwestern already played nine games against ranked opponents, going 1-8 in those contests.
The Gators manhandled their four previous opponents of the tournament, outscoring them 38-4 combined.
Florida got the scoring going in the top of the second inning when a single turned into three runs scored off sophomore Amanda Lorenz’s bat due to a throwing error.
Defensively, Kelly Barnhill took the mound, and pitched a fantastic first four innings. The sophomore pitcher totaled nine strikeouts throughout the first four frames, not allowing any offensive groove for the Wildcats early.
Barnhill had 11 strikeouts in total, marking the fifth game with double digit K’s.
In the top of the fourth inning, Florida freshman catcher Jordan Roberts blasted a shot over the wall that also brought across junior catcher Janell Wheaton, expanding the lead to five and giving the freshman her third home run on the year.
The matchup seemed like it might be too overwhelming for the Wildcats, but in the bottom of the fifth inning, the momentum started to swing in their favor.
An error by freshman Jaimie Hoover, a walk and the first Wildcat hit of the game loaded the bases. Another single from junior outfielder Sabrina Rabin put Northwestern on the board for the first time. Barnhill was able to strike out her next batter to leave three Wildcats stranded and leave the inning with only a small cut into the lead, 5-1.
The Gators were able to tack on an extra run in the top of the sixth inning to give them a 6-1 edge, but the Wildcats refused to lie down.
Barnhill allowed three straight hits for the first time this season, and an error in the outfield gave up two runs that made it a contest once again.
Florida coach Tim Walton decided to bring in freshman pitcher Katie Chronister for Barnhill, who gave up a sacrifice fly and one more run before retiring the next two batters.
After yet another run the top of the seventh, the Gators had a three run lead 7-4. Walton brought in his most experienced pitcher, senior Delanie Gourley. The senior quickly picked apart the next three batters to give Gourley her second save on the year.
This marked the end of tournament play, and now the Gators will begin their conference schedule March 11 against the Missouri Tigers in Gainesville.
Follow Skyler Lebron on Twitter at @SkylerLebron, or contact him at slebron@alligator.org.
Freshman Jaimie Hoover stands in the batter's box during a UF win on Feb. 17.
