Gators Softball Crushes Mississippi State in Game One

The fifth ranked Florida Gator softball team grabbed its first win of the series against No. 19 Mississippi State Friday night 8-3. The Gators (39-7, 13-3 SEC) are now on a five-game win streak and have a double-header against the Bulldogs (33-13, 6-10 SEC) on Saturday on the road.

Starting Off With A Bang

It didn’t take long before the Gators were on the board. In the first inning, a solo home run by Amanda Lorenz got the Gators ahead of the Bulldogs 1-0. Aleshia Ocasio followed suit with a two-run home run to extend the lead to 3-0 before heading into the bottom of the first.

T1 | That's off the tent in center field! Two-run HOME RUN by @AleshiaOcasio extends the lead out to 3-0 over No. 19 Mississippi State!#GoGators 🐊 #TheEdge pic.twitter.com/aDkX53pX35

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 20, 2018

Kelly Barnhill started in the circle for Florida and picked up a pair of strikeouts to move the inning right along.

However, the Bulldogs finally got on the board in the bottom of the second with a solo home run from by Kat Moore to make it a 3-1 game.

Picking Up the Pace

In the top of the third with two outs and Gator runners on second and third, Janell Wheaton hit a ground ball to shortstop and the throw to first base was dropped, allowing Lorenz to score and Wheaton to reach first.  With Florida up 4-1 an RBI single from Jordan Matthews extended the Gator lead to 5-1 as Nicole Dewitt came around to score.

In the Gator fourth Dewitt with a sacrifice fly to center field makes it a 6-1 game.  Moving forward to the top of the sixth, Lorenz with an RBI triple to right field scored Hannah Adams that gave the Gators a 7-1 lead. Then Dewitt with her second sacrifice fly of the night that scored Lorenz grew the Florida lead to 8-1.

T6 | @AmandaLorenz18 smokes a triple to right field and scores @hmadamss11! She's now 4-for-4 on the night with a pair of singles, a triple and a home run!#GoGators 🐊 #TheEdge pic.twitter.com/mNHMQ19yoW

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 21, 2018

The Bulldogs couldn’t bounce back from that even with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth from Mia Davidson. The Gators took the win 8-3.

Up Next

Florida will face Mississippi State tomorrow in a double-header. The first game is set for 2 p.m.