The Florida softball team concluded the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic with a pair of losses to No. 22 Oregon and Cal State Fullerton.
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The third-ranked Florida softball team fell to No. 22 Oregon, 8-0, and Cal State Fullerton, 5-4 (8 innings), Saturday afternoon at Big League Dreams sports park.
The Gators (11-3) outhit the Titans (9-6), 10-8, in an extra-inning thriller to conclude their stay at the Mary Nutter, but fell in their first extra-inning game of the season. Sam Roe (3-for-4), Avery Goelz (2-for-4) and Kendra Falby (2-for-5) each tallied multi-hit games as the Orange & Blue racked up 10 total hits.
Florida fell behind in the bottom of the 3rd inning, 3-0, via an RBI groundout and a two-run home run by Hannah Beccera, but fought back into the contest in the top of the 5th inning when Katie Kistler scored on Charla Echols RBI groundout to second base.
UF continued to rally in the top of the 6th inning and tied the game 3-3 with a pair of runs. Roe and Goelz notched back-to-back one singles to set the table for Kistler, who roped a shot to the Titans shortstop that wasn’t able to handle the ball and allowed Roe to score. Falby came through to tie the game with her two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield that scored Goelz.
With the game tied and a runner on second with one out in the bottom of the 7th inning, the Titans looked to end the game in regulation but Florida’s annually touted defense turned a perfectly executed 6-3-5 double play to end the threat and setup the opportunity for the program’s first extra-inning game of the season.
In the top of the 8th inning, Goelz was placed on second base to start the frame in accordance with international tiebreaker rule. With the speedy Goelz on second base, the Titans reliever Raci Miranda (3-2) hurled a ball to the backstop that allowed Goelz to advance to third. After a groundout, Kistler drove home Goelz with a sharply hit ball through the left side to give the Gators a 4-3 lead.
Unfortunately, Cal State Fullerton ended the game with a two-run home run from Beccera in the bottom of the 8th inning to end the game.
The Gators started the morning with a cold and rainy battle against the Ducks (10-3). The contest pitted UF right-handed pitcher Elizabeth Hightower (6-2) against Oregon’s Stevie Hansen (6-2). Hightower went 4 1/3 innings in the circle and was relieved by Trlicek for the final 2 2/3 innings, while Hansen notched a complete-game effort.
The top four batters in Oregon’s lineup accounted for seven of the nine total Oregon hits, while Florida sophomore Kendra Falby went 1-for-3 at the plate.
After the long journey to California, the Gators will take the week to prepare for another road trip with a three-game series March 3-5 at UAB.
Notables:
* Kendra Falby extended her hitting streak to three games and now has produced a hit in 13 of the 14 games play so far this season.
* Avery Goelz and Kendra Falby each notched multi-hit games against the Titans and the pair has a team leading six multi-hit games each.
* Sam Roe tied her career-high with three hits in the game against Cal State Fullerton. The last time she produced three hits in a game was against Boston University this season.
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