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.
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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.
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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.
