Like a carousel, the UF softball team rotated through its lineup in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings.
All of Florida’s runs came in the final two innings, as it turned a two-run deficit into an eight-run mercy rule to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes 10-2 on Saturday afternoon in the NCAA Gainesville Regional.
The Gators (52-8) brought 21 players to the plate over that stretch, scoring 10 runs on six hits, eight walks and one hit batter. They had plenty of opportunities earlier in the game as well, and threatened by drawing walks.
UF took a base on balls 15 times ‒ a new season high ‒ 11 times coming off Ohio State starting pitcher Shelby McCombs. The right-hander threw 140 pitches, only 60 for strikes, and pitched her way out of jams while her teammates only drew two free passes. As a team, the Buckeyes threw 109 balls.
“What we saw coming in was both of (Ohio State’s) number one pitchers walked a lot of batters on the season,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “Definitely part of our plan was making sure they were throwing strikes.”
McCombs held Florida to 0-8 with runners in scoring position through four innings, but UF finished 6-18 and limited chances for OSU, which finished 1-3 in that category.
In the bottom of the second, Florida had an opportunity with bases loaded. After back-to-back two-out walks by right fielder Jaimie Hoover and second baseman Hannah Adams, SEC Player of the Year Amanda Lorenz stepped into the batter’s box. But the junior from Moorpark, California, flied out to shallow left field, ending the frame.
She stepped to the plate again in the fourth, this time with Hoover on third base. She drew a four-pitch walk, and subsequent batter Nicole DeWitt took a pitch in the shoulder to load the bases with two away once again.
Senior Kayli Kvistad chopped a 2-2 pitch to the first baseman, Taylor Stevens, who registered the unassisted out to keep the Gators off the scoreboard.
And the Buckeyes found their offense in the top of the fourth.
With the bases empty, UF starter Kelly Barnhill hovered an 0-2 pitch above the inside of the plate for designated player Ashley Goodwin, who smoked it over the left-field wall to break the scoreless deadlock.
The very next inning OSU catcher Becca Gavin reached first on a dropped third strike. UF catcher Janell Wheaton had an opportunity to throw her out after the initial pitch got away from her, but she fired wide of her target and pulled Kvistad off first base.
Gavin advanced to third after two of her teammates walked and grounded into a fielder’s choice, respectively. She came in to score with two outs on an RBI-single from shortstop Lilli Piper, and the Buckeyes doubled their lead.
However, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Hoover stepped up for the Gators and struck a single up the middle to pull her team within one run. She’s 3-for-3 in regional play with seven RBIs and a home run.
“Jaimie is the big player of the game,” Walton said. “That hit opened everything up.”
Two batters later, Lorenz finally delivered. A hard-hit ground ball into right field just missed the outstretched glove of Stevens. Two more runners came around to score and gave UF its first lead of the day.
She would knock in another run in the sixth to pick up her third RBI, a team high.
Florida batted around its order in the final frame, scoring seven runs and ending the game on an RBI-single from senior Aleshia Ocasio.
The Gators will try and close out regional play on Sunday against Ohio State again, this time with an opportunity to claim the regional title.
You can follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr or contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
Sophomore Jaimie Hoover is 3-for-3 in regional play with seven RBIs and a home run. She had two RBIs in UF's 10-2 victory over Ohio State on Saturday.
