After kicking off the SEC opening weekend with a 3-1 win over No. 9 Kentucky Friday night, No. 6 Florida clinched its three-game home series following another 3-1 victory Saturday afternoon.
Florida right-hander Natalie Lugo earned her fourth win this season after she allowed just two hits across five innings. “[Natalie] was really good today,” head coach Tim Walton said. “When she’s got her changeup going well, . . . she’s very efficient.”
Kentucky pitcher Grace Baalman opened up the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when she belted a no-doubter solo shot off Florida right-hander Natalie Lugo over the UF bullpen in left field.
The Gators responded in the bottom half of the inning after they loaded the bases with two outs for center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey. Florida’s leadoff batter hit a routine ground ball to the right side of the infield, but Kentucky second baseman Lauren Johnson misjudged the ball and made a costly fielding error that allowed two runs to score. The next batter, second baseman Hannah Adams, kept the two-out rally alive when she sent an RBI-single through the left side to extend the lead to 3-1.
Lugo reitred the final 10 Kentucky batters she faced until southpaw Katie Chronister came in for relief in the top of the sixth. Kentucky loaded the bases with two outs before Florida brought in junior right-hander Elizabeth Hightower to escape the jam. Hightower faced a full count but forced an easy fly out to maintain Florida’s two-run advantage.
After the Gators left three baserunners stranded in the bottom of the sixth, Hightower threw a one-two-three top of the seventh inning to record her second save.
Final (R-H-E)
No. 9 Kentucky: 1-3-3
No. 6 Florida: 3-7-2
Pitching Decision
Win: Lugo (4-0)
Loss: Baalman (4-1)
Save: Hightower (2)
Individual Stats
Lugo: 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (1.56/0.89 season ERA/WHIP)
Hightower: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K (0.71/0.57)
Adams: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB (.463/.551/.667 season slash line)
Lindaman: 1-3 (.319/.475/.553)
A. Goelz: 1-3 (.298/.353/.404)
Cottrill: 2-3, 1 R, 1 2B (.209/.306/.279)
Hoover: 1-3, 1 R (.357/.440/.429)
SEC Opening Weekend
The Gators will look to complete the series sweep Sunday at 1 p.m.
Leave a comment