Florida and Tennessee are set to close out the series Monday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 13th-ranked Florida softball team dropped game two of the series, 11-10, with No. 4 Tennessee Sunday evening at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
The Gators (32-13, 8-9 SEC) and the Lady Vols (37-5, 15-2 SEC) combined for a total of 18 hits and 21 runs in the thriller that went down to the wire. Skylar Wallace (2-for-3) tied her season-high with three runs scored, while Charla Echols (2-for-4) and Reagan Walsh (2-for-5) each tallied multi-hit games.
Florida jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning off of Tennessee’s freshman pitcher Karlyn Pickens. Wallace and Kendra Falby drew back-to-back walks that led off the game and Echols struck for an RBI single that scored Wallace in the following at-bat for the first run of the game.
Walsh notched a single up the middle and Falby scored on the play after the throw to third went wild to make it a 2-0 game. Pal Egan went on to drive in Echols via a SAC fly to left, while Sarah Longley drove in Reagan Walsh from third via an RBI single through the left side to make it 4-0.
The Lady Vols struck back in the bottom half of the 1st inning to close down the Gators lead to 4-3 via a three-run home run from Zaida Puni. Lair Beautae reached via a one-out walk and McKenna Gibson singled through the left side before Puni’s home run.
UF responded in the top of the 2nd inning after Avery Goelz led the frame off with a walk, which forced Pickens from the circle and signaled the call to the bullpen for reliever Nicola Simpson. Simpson recorded an out, but back-to-back singles from Echols and Walsh eventually extended the lead out to 5-3. Walsh drove home Goelz with her ninth double of the season with a laser shot to left field.
Left-handed starting pitcher held the Lady Vols offense in check in the bottom of the 2nd inning and retired the side in order to send the Gators offense back to the plate in the top of the 3rd inning.
Florida stretched its lead out to 7-3 thanks to a pair of RBI singles from Wallace and Falby that scored Katie Kistler and Goelz respectively.
After a scoreless 4th inning from both sides, the Gators struck for two more runs in the top of the 5th inning. Goelz notched a one-out single to left, which was followed by a hit-by-pitch on top of Wallace’s right shoulder. Echols loaded the bases with four-pitch walk before Walsh ripped a ball to shortstop that was mishandled allowing Wallace and Falby to score.
UT responded in the home half of the 5th inning with a one-out solo home run from Kiki Milloy that closed down UF’s lead down to 9-4 and the Lady Vols scored seven more to retake the lead 11-9 in the bottom of the 6th inning.
Wallace spearheaded a rally in the top of the 7th inning when she blasted her 15th home run of the season with a leadoff shot to center field that closed down the lead to 11-10. Falby followed up with a walk and made her way into scoring position after an error on a flyout to left, but UT found a way to escape the jam with the win.
Florida and Tennessee are set to close out the series Monday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
Notables:
* Wallace extended her hit-streak to 10 games after going 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored, two RBI and a home run.
* She also extended her reached base safely streak out to 10 games and has reached base safely in 40 of the 41 games played this season.
* It’s Wallace’s 13th multi-hit game of the year.
* Echols and Walsh tallied multi-hit games with two hits each. It’s Echols 14th multi-hit game and Walsh’s 10th multi-hit game of the year.
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