No. 5 Florida cruised past No. 13 LSU 9-3 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Sunday en route to completing its second straight conference series sweep.
The Gators hopped out to an early 7-0 lead through the first three frames. They tacked on three first-inning runs before LSU pulled starting pitcher Maribeth Gorsuch in favor of right-hander Shelbi Sunseri. Sunseri escaped the jam but surrendered four earned runs in the bottom of the third. A leadoff double followed by a walk and a single loaded the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, Florida shortstop Sarah Longley drew an RBI walk before center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey sent a bases-clearing double to the wall in left-center. Lindsey mentioned how Kendyl Lindaman and Jaimie Hoover’s pair of two-run shots in Saturday’s win severed as motivation for her. “It’s always an inspiration to see two other people get two-run home runs and it always feels good to get that as well,” Lindsey said.
After hurling a complete-game shutout Friday, Florida right-hander Elizabeth Hightower dealt her eighth complete game this season. The junior faced only 25 batters to record 21 outs as she yielded just five hits and no walks. Hightower gave up two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth innings.
Entering the bottom of the fifth, Florida’s lead shrunk to four runs until Longley and Lindsey delivered again. Longley led off with a double into the left-center gap and Lindsey bombed one to dead center that just cleared the 220-foot sign. Lindsey’s second home run this year granted the Gators a 9-3 lead, which they held through the final two frames.
Despite Florida’s huge offensive performance, head coach Tim Walton noted how two of the top hitters in the lineup — Lindaman and third baseman Charla Echols — failed to get a hit.
“When we win games and Charla Echols and Kendyl Lindaman go hitless, . . . I think that’s a great sign for our team,” he said. “Really proud of the entire offense . . . really happy to see other contributions.”
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