The No. 6/8 Florida Gator softball team sought revenge on Wednesday night as they strolled into JoAnne Graf Field in Tallahassee and they found it defeating the No. 8/7 Florida State Seminoles by a score of 4-2.
Gator ace Hannah Rogers got the start in the circle and she did not disappoint. After losing to the Seminoles last week, Rogers went the distance in this game, allowing just two runs on five hits. Rogers struck out four and walked five. Opposite Rogers was the Seminole junior right-hander Lacey Waldrop who came into the game with a record of 25-2 on the season, including a win over Florida.
Last week, Waldrop pitched all eight innings and got the win while striking out nine but the Orange and Blue would not let that happen again.
It was a pitcher’s duel early as both pitchers threw three scoreless innings to begin the game but the Gators found themselves with the first runs on the board in the fourth. With the bases loaded sophomore first baseman Taylor Schwarz singled to left to score both Briana Little and Kirsti Merritt. Schwarz finished 2 of-3 on the night earning her fifth multi-RBI game of the season and her first since March 16th against the LSU Tigers.
The Seminoles added one in the bottom of the sixth but to add some insurance in the top of the seventh, junior outfielder Bailey Castro hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to give the Gators a commanding 4-1 lead. Rogers would allow one run in the bottom half of the inning but she would close it out for the victory, her 17th win of the season.
With their win, the Gators improved their overall record to 35-8 on the season. The Gators have now won four straight games and seem to have rebounded well from their four game losing streak of a week ago.
Up next for the Gators will be a home matchup against the Florida A&M Rattlers. This will be the first of two non-conference games for the Gators this upcoming weekend. First pitch between the Gators and FAMU will be Friday at 6pm.