GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 14th-seeded Florida softball team opened the NCAA Gainesville Region with a resounding 10-1 victory over Canisius College Friday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. Pitchers Lexie Delbrey (14-3), Rylee Trlicek and Natalie Lugo combined for the program’s third combined one-hitter in NCAA Tournament play.
The Gators (44-16) struck early and often against the Golden Griffins (32-17) as the Orange & Blue plated a run in every inning at the plate. Overall, the team ripped 10 hits and was led by multi-hit games from Skylar Wallace (3-for-3), Regan Walsh (2-for-3) and Kendra Falby (2-for-3), but it was backed up by impressive extra-base hits in the form of Sam Roe’s three-run home run and Cheyenne Lindsey’s two-RBI triple.
In the first inning, Wallace broke open the scoring with her seventh home run of the season as she sent the 2-2 offering Megan Giese (14-9) over the center field wall to give Florida a 1-0 lead.
UF struck for three more in the bottom of the second inning when Roe cleared the bases with the third home run of her career. The Destin, Fla. native drove in fellow Gators Katie Kistler and Avery Goelz who each reached by hit-by-pitch and a walk respectively to extend the lead out to 4-0.
With the lead in hand, Delbrey worked effectively through the first two innings and picked up four strikeouts along the way. The Bainbridge, Ga. native struck out the side for the seventh time this season to close third inning.
The Gators doubled their lead with a four-run third inning of play that was highlighted by Lindsey’s eighth triple of the year. Charla Echols started the rally with an RBI single up the middle that allowed Wallace to score and Walsh followed up with her first hit of the game to put two runners on with one out for Lindsey’s two-RBI triple.
Katie Kistler drove home Lindsey in the next at-bat on a groundout to second base that extended the lead out to 8-0.
Echols and Walsh capped the scoring for the game as Echols produced a SAC fly that scored Falby and Walsh picked up her second base hit of the game with an RBI single to right center.
Florida will take on Georgia Tech Saturday, May 21, at 3 p.m. (ET). Fans can watch the game via the WatchESPN App.
Notables:
* The Gators are now 3-0 all-time versus Canisius and 48-19 all-time in NCAA Regional play.
* Overall, the program is 95-47 in the NCAA Tournament and 43-7 under head coach Tim Walton.
* With home runs from Wallace and Roe, the Gators now have nine multi-home run games on the season.
* It’s the first multi-home run game since March 22, at Stetson when Walsh and Echols sent two over the wall and the first at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium since March 14 against Mississippi State when Falby and Wallace went yard.
* Roe’s three-run home run in the second inning was the third of her career and the three RBI also set a new game-high for the freshman.
* The Destin, Fla. native now has five multi-RBI games on the year.
* Lindsey ripped her eighth triple of the season with a bases clearing shot in the third and now sits fourth overall in the country in the category.
* The Chattanooga, Tenn. native now has seven multi-RBI games this season.
* The trio of Delbrey, Trlicek and Lugo combined for the program’s fourth one-hitter of the season.
* It’s also the third combined one-hitter in the program’s history during the NCAA Tournament.
? 5/21/21 Elizabeth Hightower/Katie Chronister USF W, 1-0
? 5/20/16 Aleshia Ocasio/Kelly Barnhill Alabama State W, 11-0 (5)
– Wallace went 3-for-3 in today’s game which ties her career-high for hits in a game for the third time this season and the fifth time overall in her career.
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