Five straight teams were unable to register a run against the No. 3 Florida Softball team over a week’s span, and nine of the last eleven teams were shutout.
The Gators threw 67 scoreless innings prior to Friday’s second game against No. 7 UCLA.
Before the Bruins, UF had just played another highly ranked team in No. 23 California.
Florida proved its ranking, shutting out the Golden Bears 4-0 and slugging out a victory over the Bruins 9-4.
The second game immediately set a different tone when the Bruins were able to register a run off senior pitcher Delanie Gourley on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning. After a five-game shutout streak, an opponent was finally able to get on the board.
However, the Gators (19-1) responded as well as they could have, adding four runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 4-1 lead.
The scoring began when sophomore outfielder Amanda Lorenz rounded third and home off a pitching error from UCLA’s Paige McDuffee.
The Bruins made a pitching change with no outs in the bottom of the first to freshman Selina Ta’amilo. She didn’t fare any better, as junior second baseman Nicole DeWitt utilized a sacrifice fly out to bring freshman Sophia Reynoso across the plate.
The very next play, junior catcher Janell Wheaton blasted a two-run shot over the wall to expand the lead out to three.
The Bruins made yet another pitching change, and by the second inning UCLA had already used all four of their pitchers in the bullpen.
The Gators mirrored their offensive display in the second inning, scoring four additional runs off two doubles from Reynoso and junior first baseman Kayli Kvistad and another fielding error.
Before UCLA knew it, the lead was 8-1 in favor of the Gators, and that early lead was only a distant memory.
While they would close the gap with a two-run homer in the top of the third, the Gators never wilted defensively, winning the matchup 9-4.
Gourley had another solid performance one day after throwing her first career perfect game. The senior struck out 11 batters and pitched a complete game.
Against No. 23 Cal, Florida used its duo of junior Aleshia Ocasio and sophomore Kelly Barnhill in the pitcher’s circle to dismantle the Golden Bears’ offense. Over the entire game, the Bears managed three hits.
The Gators used another two-home run performance, this time from Kvistad and DeWitt, to gain a sizable lead on their way to a 4-0 victory.
Florida is now 4-0 when facing ranked opponents this season.
The tournament concludes for the Gators Saturday at 3 p.m., when they close out the Judi Garman Classic with a face-off with the 6-10 Northwestern Wildcats, a team on a five-game win streak.
Follow Skyler Lebron on Twitter @SkylerLebron, or contact him at slebron@alligator.org.
Florida's defense comes off the field during UF's 9-3 win over Northwestern State on Feb. 17 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
