The top ranked Florida Gator softball team lost its final regular season game against the 11th ranked Missouri Tigers, 3-2 in extra innings on Sunday in Columbia, Missouri. Even with the loss, the Gators still won the series and, because of a loss by Auburn, the Gators also capture the SEC regular season title. Florida has not lost a series since the first SEC series against LSU in mid March. Florida finishes the season with a record of 49-5, 18-5 in the SEC.
Senior Lauren Haeger got the start for Florida on Sunday and did well. The pitcher went seven innings, only allowing two runs and striking out four. Florida’s offense did not give much run support as the game went into extra innings.
For the third consecutive game, Delanie Gourley came out of the bullpen in relief. Contrary to her first two appearances of the series, the sophomore lost the game in the eighth inning via a sacrifice fly by Mizzou. This is the first time this season the Gators lost a game that Lauren Haeger started.
Only two Gator players were able to get hits for the Gators, Kelsey Stewart and Aubree Munro. They both recorded one RBI in the top of the fourth to tie the game at two, and that would be the only runs Florida would be able to produce.
Stewart did extend her hit streak to 20 games, improving her career-high.
This year’s SEC championship marks the fifth time in program history the Gators finish the year on top of the conference standings. The last three times the Gators entered the SEC Tournament as the number one seed, they ended up winning the tournament.
The Gators now have to wait until Thursday to play the winner of the Texas A&M and South Carolina game on Wednesday.