After sending a ball over the center field wall in the first inning, Amanda Lorenz stood in the batter's box aiming for the same result in the second.
The sophomore from Moorpark, California, got a hittable pitch, smacking a hard-hit ball toward center field.
Once again, the ball soared over the wall.
The second homer marked her first multi-home run game of the season.
“Pregame, I was a little frustrated. Didn’t feel that great,” Lorenz said.
“So I was taking deep breaths and trying to get something going for my team.”
Behind her hitting, Florida took down the North Florida Ospreys 5-1 on Wednesday evening at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Lorenz went 2-for-3 in the game and had four RBIs. She also forced a walk with the bases loaded in the third to make the score 5-0. To coach Tim Walton, that was her best at-bat of the game.
“After hitting two home runs,” Walton said, “there is not one person in the ballpark who’s not going to come up here and try to hit the third home run. She stayed really disciplined in that at-bat.”
Meanwhile, freshman Jordan Roberts, who was moved to cleanup hitter for the first time in her career, had a pair of hits on the day.
The most recent recipient of the SEC Freshman of the Week award had a single to both right field and center field.
“It feels good to be able to move from the four-spot, to the five-spot, to the six-spot,” Roberts said. “It means I can do whatever (coach) needs me to do.”
All of Florida’s runs were scored in the first three innings, and the team totaled seven hits. But because the Gators also left eight on base, the victory was also thanks to their tough defense.
Six straight Ospreys were retired to begin the game, and even then, it was a walk in the third inning that allowed North Florida to reach base.
In the fourth inning, shortstop Sophia Reynoso forced a double play with North Florida in scoring position to send the game into the fifth inning.
Junior Aleshia Ocasio pitched a solid game for Florida, tossing a complete game with four strikeouts.
“Aleshia came in and pounded the zone,” Walton said. “And we played really good defense behind her.”
As No. 3 Florida (34-2) has only allowed three runs in the past four games, the team will aim to continue its tough defense when it faces Georgia in this weekend’s SEC series.
“We’re going to have to shift gears and get ready for a very athletic, fast Georgia team,” Walton said.
Contact Cassie Amundson at camundson@alligator.org or follow her on Twitter @camundson_.
UF outfielder Amanda Lorenz prepares to swing during Florida's 9-3 win against Northwestern State on Feb. 17, 2017, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
