Miller Achieves Perfection Again; No. 14 Gators Blow Past Leopards and Raiders
Freshman left-handed pitcher Olivia Miller hurled her second perfect game of the year and the Gators outscored Lafayette and Colgate 29-0.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 14th-ranked Florida softball continued action at the T-Mobile Tournament and received a perfect game performance in the, 8-0 (6 inning), win against Lafayette and a two-hit shutout in the, 21-0 (5 innings), victory over Colgate Saturday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Gators (14-2) started the day off with a perfect game hurled by freshman Olivia Miller against the Leopards (2-7). The left-handed pitcher’s performance during opening weekend made her the first freshman to ever hurl a perfect game and she continued her record setting was as she became the first pitcher ever in program history to throw two perfect games in a single season.
Miller kept the Lafayette batters off balance and relied on her defense for a majority of the game as she only notched three total strikeouts. In fact, in the top of the sixth inning senior Katie Kistler essentially secured the milestone moment for Miller by making a leaping grab against the right field wall for the final out of the frame.
Florida, leading 5-0 heading home half of the sixth inning, went on to plate three more runs and end the game via run-rule. Korbe Otis provided the game-ending hit with via an RBI double to center field that scored Kendra Falby from second base.
Overall, the Gators had five batters tally multi-hit efforts in the game against Lafayette as Falby (2-for-4), Otis (2-for-4), Skylar Wallace (2-for-3), Reagan Walsh (2-for-3) and Ariel Kowalewski (2-for3) each made a significant impact at the plate.
In game two of the day against Colgate, fellow freshman pitcher Ava Brown made her bid for perfection. Brown retired the first 10 batters faced, striking out five, in the run-rule shortened game before she allowed an infield single in the top of the fifth. Colgate was able to tally one other base hit in the frame, but Brown and the Gators preserved the shutout.
Offensively, UF’s 21 runs scored against the Raiders is tied for the second most runs scored during a single game in program history. The Gators big inning occurred in the bottom of the third frame when the program scored 13 runs, which was highlighted by two Reagan Walsh home runs. Walsh became the first Florida player since Bailey Castro against Ole Miss in 2013 to hit two home runs in one inning.
In this game, six different Gators tallied multi-hit games as Walsh (2-for-3), Falby (2-for-3), Wallace (2-for-3), Brown (2-for-3), Jocelyn Erickson (2-for-2) and Alyssa Hovermale (2-for-2) led the charge at the plate. Another pair of firsts occurred in outing as pitchers Mackenzie Wooten and Miller each tallied their first collegiate hits in their first collegiate at-bats.
The Gators are set to close out the T-Mobile Tournament with a single game against UIC at 11:30 a.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Notables:
* Freshman Olivia Miller’s perfect game against Lafayette, 8-0 (6 innings), is the second perfect game of the season. She became the first freshman in Florida history to throw a perfect game in the Orange & Blue’s, 16-0 (5 inning), win over Bethune-Cookman (Feb. 11, 2024).
* Miller is the first player in program history to hurl two perfect games in the same season and only the third Gator in program history to throw two complete-game perfect games in their career.
* Chelsey Sakizzie – Bethune-Cookman – 4/5/97
* Chelsey Sakizzie – Iowa State – 3/5/98
* Stephanie Brombacher – USF – 3/25/10
* Stephanie Brombacher – N.C. State – 2/12/11
* Oliva Miller – Bethune-Cookman – 2/11/24
* Olivia Miller – Lafayette College – 2/24/24
* Overall, it’s the ninth complete-game perfect game in program history.
* Reagan Walsh belted a pair of home runs in the bottom of the third inning against Colgate and is the first Gator since Bailey Castro in 2013 against Ole Miss to accomplish the feat.
* Florida scored 21 runs against Colgate, which is tied for the second most runs scored in program history and it is also is tied for the second largest margin of victory in program history.
* May 5, 2010 – vs. North Florida – W, 22-0
* March 12, 2011 – vs. Ball State – W, 21-0
* Feb. 11, 2023 – vs. Illinois State – W, 21-0
* Feb. 24, 2024 – vs. Colgate – W, 21-0
* The Gators pair of shutouts gives the program eight so far on the year and the run-rule victories for UF on the season now stands at 12.
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