Senior outfielder Katie Kistler tied her career-high in RBI with five against Indiana this afternoon and was a double shy of hitting for the cycle.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 10th-ranked Florida Softball team downed Indiana, 10-4, on a pleasant Saturday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Gators (24-4) score 10 or more runs for the third consecutive game this week and were led by senior Katie Kistler’s five RBI performance in the win over the Hoosiers (21-5). Freshman right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock (11-3) also notched her 11th complete-game of the season and did not relinquish a hit until the top of the sixth inning.
Florida jumped out in front early in the bottom of the first inning of play and took a 2-0 lead. Kendra Falby led off the game with a full-count walk, which was then followed by Skylar Wallace being hit by the 2-1 offering from Indiana starter Sophie Kleiman (7-1). Jocelyn Erickson drew the second walk of the frame to load the bases and set the table for Korbe Otis.
Otis ripped a two-RBI single up the middle which plated both Falby and Wallace for the initial lead.
UF tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third inning to go up 4-0 on IU. Wallace and Erickson both drew a hit-by-pitch and the duo pulled off a double steal to move into scoring position during Otis’ at-bat. Otis notched her third RBI of the game on a SAC fly into foul territory in left field and Kistler earned her first RBI via an RBI single through the right side.
The Gators were close to putting the game into run-rule territory with a three-run bottom of the fifth inning that pushed the lead out to 7-0. Otis led off the inning with a walk and scored on Kistler’s second triple of the season. Reagan Walsh scored Kistler from third in the next at-bat via an RBI groundout to second and Ava Brown scored pinch-runner Brooke Barnard from first base with a double off the wall in left field.
Rothrock didn’t allow her first hit of the game until the top of the sixth inning. Indiana was able to score four runs on a pair of two-RBI home runs by Cora Bassett and Taylor Minnick and closed down the UF lead to 7-4.
The Gators responded in kind in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead out to 10-4. Wallace drew her third hit-by-pitch of the game, stole second and Erickson put a pair of runners on with a walk. Erickson was retired on a fielder’s choice by Otis to second base. Kistler stepped into the box and blasted her third home run of the season down the right field line to clear the bases and end the scoring.
Florida and Indiana are set to take on each other one more time this Sunday, March 17, at 11 a.m. on SEC Network +.
Notables:
* Senior outfielder Katie Kistler tied her career-high in RBI with five against the Hoosiers. The Orange Park, Fla., native tallied five RBI in the win against Stetson this past Wedesday.
* Kistler hit her third home run and second triple of the season in today’s win and was a double shy of the cycle after going 3-for-4 at the plate.
* Freshman Keagan Rothrock notched her 11th complete game of the season.
* She is now tied for fifth all-time in UF history among freshman in the category as she joins Lauren Haeger (2012).
* Ava Brown and Ariel Kowalewski both hit a double, while Kistler had a triple and a home run, which give UF 103 total extra base hits on the year. They have hit 55 doubles, 10 triples and 38 home runs and have held opposing teams to just 17 extra base hits and have not allowed a triple all season.
* Skylar Wallace drew a career-high three hit-by-pitches in today’s win.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
FloridaGators.com<http://www.floridagators.com/softball/>
Florida Softball on Twitter<http://twitter.com/GatorsSB>
Head Coach Tim Walton on Twitter<https://twitter.com/_TimWalton>
Florida Softball on Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/GatorsSB>
