Gators Sweep Doubleheader Against UNF

The Gators went to Jacksonville hungry for runs after being shut down by Oklahoma State on Monday.

The Florida softball team beat North Florida on both ends of Wednesday’s doubleheader, 10-0 and 14-0 in five innings. Attendees threw on hoodies and traded their sunglasses for blankets, but Florida (10-2) remained on fire.

Game 1: Pitch Selection And RBIs Help Gators Win

Even though she pitched the entire game, Ava Browns’ (5-0) biggest accomplishment was striking out UNF outfielder Chloe Culp.

The two squared off during the fifth inning. Culp continued to foul off pitches, sending them flying into the bleachers and the pavement surrounding the stadium. She worked into a 3-2 count after 10 pitches, the longest at-bat of the game.

Brown threw a change-up that dropped as it reached the plate. Culp swung, but she pulled back at the last second.

Brown immediately pointed to the home-plate umpire. He pointed to the first base umpire, who called Culp’s movement a swing. Brown pumped her first, swinging her knee up at the same time.

“Yeah,” she screamed. “Let’s go.”

“I think it starts with both of our pitchers in the circle,” Florida coach Tim Walton said during a mid-game interview with Matison Little of ESPN+.

While Brown succeeded from behind the pitcher’s circle, she also racked up RBIs in the first game.

She first approached the plate in the second inning ready to swing at any ball that crossed the zone. She worked into a 3-2 count. A pitch that drifted over the center of the plate.

She swung.

The ball launched off her bat, crossed over the fences and dropped into the soccer fields next to the softball stadium. The entire team ran to home plate to celebrate with her, patting her helmet as she touched the plate.

Korbe Otis and Jocelyn Erickson also had RBIs. The game ended in the sixth thanks to the run rule.

3 run homer 🚀@avajbrownn blasts one out the park!

📺 ESPN+ | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/n6etUTIFtR

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) February 21, 2024

Game 2: Gators Trample UNF

UNF (6-5) started the second game slow. In both the second and third innings, Florida reached first after fielding errors. In the third and fifth innings, wild pitches allowed runners on base to advance.

The team’s frustration about the called balls and strikes seemed to bubble over in the second inning. The UNF team’s dugout yelled about their frustrations, groaning when another Gator batter took first.

In total, the Gators walked four times that inning on borderline pitches.

UNF’s coach Jeff Conrad was pulled aside by the umpire and the dugout was warned. However, the crowd continued to complain after UNF’s players quieted.

In the fourth inning, Katie Kistler took two balls, waiting for a pitch she could smash. Then, a pitch crossed the center of the plate. She hit the ball over the navy-blue padded fence in right field. A large smile crossed over her face as she ran the bases.

Her teammates crowded the plate, jumping up and down. They screamed and hit her, celebrating her first homer of the year.

“You got to be patiently aggressive,” Walton said during the same midgame interview.

By the end of the game, Erickson, Baylee Goddard and Brooke Barnard all hit balls over the fence. The game ended in a five-inning 14-0 mercy rule for the Gators

Over the fence! @katie_kistler07's first HR this season🔥

📺 ESPN+ | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/mf30IlvXun

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) February 22, 2024

Up Next

Florida returns to Gainesville for the T-Mobile Tournament starting at 3 p.m. Friday against Colgate (3-6) followed by a 5:30 p.m. game against Lafayette College.