OXFORD, Miss. – The ninth-ranked Florida softball team secured the program’s first Southeastern Conference series sweep of the 2022 season with a pair of wins, 7-3 & 10-9, over Ole Miss Friday at the Ole Miss Softball Complex.
The Gators (34-9, 11-7 SEC) picked up the pair of wins behind 16 hits and 17 runs scored against the Rebels (29-14, 5-10 SEC). It’s the first sweep of an SEC opponent since No. 13 LSU during the 2021 season.
Game 1 | Gators 7, Rebels 3
In the first game of the day, Florida jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the initial frame of play thanks to back-to-back doubles from Wallace and Adams along with an RBI groundout from Lindsey down the first base line.
Ole Miss attempted to take advantage of back-to-back walks to leadoff the bottom of the 1st inning, but sophomore Haley Pittman entered in relief of Lexie Delbrey and proceeded to retire the next three batters in order.
The Gators offense picked back up where it left off in the top of the 1st inning. Avery Goelz led the frame off with hit-by-pitch, which was followed by an infield single by Kendra Falby and another full-count hit-by-pitch by Wallace loaded the bases with no outs.
The Rebels managed to produce a force out at home for the first out of the inning, but Charla Echols drilled a two-RBI single through the right side of the infield to plate Falby and Wallace and give the Gators a 4-0 lead.
Ole Miss stormed back to close down the Florida lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the 5th inning of play. Abbey Latham scored Tate Whitley from third on an RBI fielder’s choice to Florida’s middle infield and Sydney Gutierrez plated Latham and Bre Roper with her two-RBI double to right center.
Florida pushed its lead back out to three runs with one run in the 6th inning and two in top of the 7th inning. Sarah Longley doubled to left center field to plate Wallace from third after she stole her 35th bag of the year, and Katie Kistler stretched it out to 7-3 with her two-RBI single up the middle that scored Lindsey and pinch-runner Christina Wellen.
Sophomore Haley Pittman picked up her second win of the season as she pitched 4.1 innings in relief, while Natalie Lugo earned her third save of year as she retired the Ole Miss side in order to seal the victory.
Game 2 | Gators 7, Rebels 7
The two teams picked up their battle in the second game of the afternoon as it turned out to be a back-and-forth affair for much of the contest.
Ole Miss struck first in the home half of the 2nd inning of play on a sacrifice bunt that included a throwing error down the first base line that score an unearned run.
Florida immediately responded in the top of the 3rd inning with a five-run frame to take the lead 5-1. Emily Wilkie led the inning off after she was hit by the 2-2 pitch, Falby followed up with a five-pitch walk and Echols loaded the bases later in the frame with a four-pitch walk to set the table.
Reagan Walsh plated the first run of the game for the Gators with a fielder’s choice RBI to third base that scored Wilkie. Lindsey struck for an RBI single to score Echols and give the Gators the lead and Kistler and Longley notched back-to-back RBI base hits up the middle to plate three more runs.
The Rebels responded in the bottom of the 3rd inning to tie the game, 5-5, with a pair of two-run home runs from Latham and Mikayla Allee, but the Gators responded again with a two-run top of the 4th inning to retake the lead 7-5.
Wallace started the rally in the frame with a full-count walk and then made history as she stole her 36th base of the season to tie the program’s single-season record that was set by Kelsey Stewart during the 2013 & 2014 seasons. The Woodstock, Ga. native advanced to third on the same play as the Ole Miss catcher’s throw was off the mark and sailed into center field. Wallace continued to use her utilize her speed as she raced home on a shallow sacrifice fly to second baseman Angelina DeLeon in foul territory.
Lindsey extended the lead as she plated pinch-runner Avery Goelz with a two-out triple off the center field wall.
Ole Miss continued to use the long ball to their advantage in the contest as a pair of solo home runs to left field knotted the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the 5th inning of play.
After a length weather delay with one out in the top of the 6th inning, the two squads held each other scoreless to advance the game to the 7th inning tied 7-7. The Gators regrouped in the top of the 7th inning to take the lead 10-7.
Lindsey led off the frame with a beautiful bunt single and was advanced into scoring position on Roe’s sacrifice bunt back to the circle. Longley followed up with a four-pitch walk from Ole Miss reliever Anna Borgen, but it was Emily Wilkie’s three-run bomb to center field that gave UF a 10-7 lead.
The Rebels attempted to rally in the last frame of the game and even closed down the Gators lead to 10-9 with a two-run home run, but Lugo (8-4) and the Orange & Blue slammed the door to secure the program’s first SEC series sweep of the season.
Notables:
* The Gators clinched their fourth SEC regular season series of the season when the team captured game one of today’s doubleheader.
* The program has not lost an SEC road series this season and it’s the eighth-straight SEC road series win. The last time UF lost a SEC road series was in 2019 at Ole Miss.
* Overall, the holds an 11-2 record on the road in 2022.
* Skylar Wallace tied the single-season Florida record for stolen bases with 36 as she stole one in the first game and one in the second game of today’s doubleheader.
* She ties former Gators standout Kelsey Stewart’s record of 36 that she accomplished during the 2013 & 2014 seasons.
* Haley Pittman extended her scoreless inning streak to a career-long 12.2 innings before it came to an end in the bottom of the 5th inning of game one.
* Cheyenne Lindsey belted her sixth triple of the season today. The Chattanooga, Tenn. native’s six triples are the most by a senior in program history.
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