Florida pitchers Lexie Delbrey, Rylee Trlicek and Elizabeth Hightower struck out 11 and issued zero walks in the win over Stetson.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Florida softball team struck out 11 in the, 5-0, shutout victory Wednesday night against Stetson at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The 11 strikeouts tied the Gators season-high on the season and it’s the second time this year the staff recorded 10 or more strikeouts against Stetson.
The Gators (36-12) picked up the two-hit shutout over the Hatters (20-29) behind the arms of starting pitcher Lexie Delbrey (11-2) and relief pitchers Rylee Trlicek and Elizabeth Hightower.
Delbrey struck out six and allowed a pair of hits over 5 innings of work, while Trlicek followed with a pair of strikeouts in a perfect sixth inning and Hightower struck out the side for the fifth time this season to cap the seventh.
The staff also issued zero walks in tonight’s game, which is the first time this year UF pitchers have accomplished the feat.
Offensively, Florida’s speed was on display yet again as the team stole three bases and produced four bunt singles. UF’s speed was also a factor in forcing Stetson to commit a trio of errors in the field that resulted in two of the five runs scored.
It was in the third inning of action when the Gators broke onto the scoreboard to take a 2-0 lead. Redshirt-junior Skylar Wallace led the frame with a full-count walk and promptly stole her 41st bag of the season with senior Cheyenne Lindsey at the plate.
Lindsey followed up with a beautiful bunt single that forced an errant throw by the catcher after touching the bag at first. With the throw wild into foul territory that allowed Lindsey to race to second and Wallace to scamper home for the first run of the game.
Senior Charla Echols followed up Lindsey’s at-bat with the first of two doubles she would hit during the game. The Newnan, Ga. native ripped the first pitch offered from Stetson starter Lauren Klein down the right field line to score Lindsey easily from second.
Florida added another run in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead and this time it was freshman Kendra Falby creating havoc on the bases. The Odessa, Fla. native produced a bunt single to reach safely at first and then proceeded to steal her 28th base of the year
The play continued as a pair of Stetson errors while trying to catch Falby stealing resulted in the speedster racing home.
In the fifth inning, Echols belted her second double of the night with a one-out shot to left center field to set the table for the Gators next scoring opportunity. Echols was lifted for pinch-runner Christina Wellen, who advanced to third base on a passed ball, and was driven home on freshman Reagan Walsh’s sacrifice fly down the left field line.
The Gators completed the scoring with one more run in the sixth to take a 5-0 lead. Sophomore Katie Kistler led the charge with a leadoff single up the middle of the Hatters infield, which led to a four-pitch walk issued to pinch-hitter Cali Decker and an infield single by Falby to load the bases.
Wallace drove home Kistler in the following at bat with her RBI groundout to shortstop.
The Gators return to action for their final SEC regular season series this Friday through Sunday in Baton Rouge, La. Against LSU.
Notables:
* The Florida pitching staff produced a season-high tying mark of 11 strikeouts in tonight’s win.
* It’s the seventh time this season the staff has produced 10 or more strikeouts in a game.
* Tonight, the staff also issued a season-low zero walks, which is the first time the feat has been accomplished this season.
* This game also marks the 14th time this year that the Gators have held an opponent to two hits or less in a game.
* Elizabeth Hightower entered the game in the seventh inning and struck out the side for the fifth time this season.
* Tonight’s shutout victory is the 14th of the season for the Gators.
* The Gators stole three bases tonight, which is the 18th time the team has stolen three or more bases in a game.
* Charla Echols’ two doubles are a career-high for the senior and she now has a team-leading 11 on the year.
* Cheyenne Lindsey, Kendra Falby and Echols produced multi-hit games tonight, which brings their totals to 14, 21 and eight multi-hit games respectively on the year.
* With four bunts for a hit in tonight’s win, the Gators now have 42 hits on the year via bunts.
* Skylar Wallace extended her reached base safely streak out to 17 games with a walk in the third inning.
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