Kentucky freshman Alex Martens stepped into the batter’s box in the bottom of the seventh.
With two outs and the Wildcats down, Martens needed a hit to keep the game alive. That hit never came.
UF pitcher Kelly Barnhill retired Martens in just three pitches, giving Florida the win.
But striking out Martens didn’t just signal a victory — it secured Barnhill’s first no-hitter this season and the second of her career.
Her pitching effort on Sunday tipped the game in Florida’s favor, as the Gators (40-3, 15-2 SEC) won 2-0 and clinched the SEC weekend series over No. 21 Kentucky.
After Kentucky’s eight-hit effort led to a Wildcats win on Saturday, the Gators needed a strong defensive response.
Barnhill provided it.
Florida’s ace put on a performance in Lexington, striking out 15 and allowing one walk on Sunday afternoon.
In the two appearances Barnhill made over the weekend, the sophomore notched an impressive 30 strikeouts.
Going into the series, Barnhill led the nation with 12.7 strikeouts per seven innings, the most in the country.
Barnhill also tallied 175 strikeouts on the season going into the series. Now that she has 205 strikeouts under her belt, she should remain No. 1 in strikeouts per seven innings, as well as move into the top 10 of another category: total strikeouts.
Currently, the player with the most strikeouts in the NCAA is Michigan’s Megan Betsa at 266. But Barnhill, who has struck out at least 10 in three of her last four games, continues to move up in that ranking.
Outside of the pitcher’s circle, Florida’s defense shaped up on Sunday. After a pair of errors cost it in Saturday’s loss, UF didn’t commit any errors in its 2-0 win.
The Gators also responded with a heavier dose of offense in the win. After only connecting on a pair of hits Saturday, the team had five in the win.
Two of the hits came from junior Janell Wheaton, who batted in the cleanup spot.
In the first inning, she drove a ball to left field that brought home fellow junior Kayli Kvistad to put Florida up early.
Then, in the fifth inning, junior Nicole DeWitt was hit by a pitch – the fifth time she has been hit in the past four games.
DeWitt reaching base set up another at-bat for Wheaton, who hit an RBI single up the middle to send DeWitt home.
Building off DeWitt’s performance, the Gators will look to improve on their offensive game while continuing their strong defense when they face UCF at home on Wednesday.
“Kelly was ‘WOW’ this week, and Janell had a great week for us on offense and defense,” Florida head coach Tim Walton said in a release.
“Today was a great road-series win against a good Kentucky team.”
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
UF pitcher Kelly Barnhill winds up during Florida's 5-0 win against Georgia on April 8, 2017, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
