GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 4 Gators closed out the T-Mobile Tournament defeating Florida A&M, 8-0 (5 innings), Sunday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressley Stadium. The shutout victory is Florida’s sixth of the season.
The Orange and Blue improved to 10-0 thanks to a shutout performance from junior pitcher Rylee Trlicek and Marissa Mesiemore. The Hallettsville, Texas native started in the circle and tossed 4.0 innings to secure her first win of the season. She surrendered two hits and struck out two batters before she was relieved by the graduate transfer Mesiemore (Bushnell, Fla.) in the 5th inning.
The duo combined to throw only 48 pitches in the 1 hour and 26-minute contest.
The Gators entered the run column in the 2nd inning with Charla Echols scoring the first run via a wild pitch after a walk by Reagan Walsh. Emily Wilkiewould follow that up by knocking in Walsh from third on a groundout to shortstop.
Kendra Falby capped the inning off lacing a double down the right field line to score Avery Goelz for the 3rd run of the inning.
Florida struck for two more in the 3rd inning and took a 5-0 lead thanks to Echols as she launched a pitch over the right field fence after Skylar Wallacereached on a hit by pitch. It was the first home run of the year by Echols.
Continuing to do damage in the 4th inning, Falby swiped two bases and scored on a throwing error by the catcher trying to nab her at third base after her bunt single. Echols extended the lead for her third RBI on the day lacing a single into center field.
Falby produced the game ending hit with a single to left field for her second RBI of the game.
The Gators return to action Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. with a single game at North Florida and then will host the Ospreys the following day at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium at 6 p.m.
Special report on the Florida Gators softball team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Friday evening No. 4-ranked Florida defeated No. 14 Duke, 9-3, in front of 2,163 fans to close out the opening day of the T-Mobile Tournament at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. It’s UF’s second Top 25 win of the season.
The Gators (7-0) pounded out 10 hits in tonight’s victory and was led by redshirt-junior Skylar Wallace (2-for-3), senior Cheyenne Lindsey (2-for-4) and freshman Kendra Falby (2-for-4) at the plate. It’s the third time over the last four games that the offense has produced 10 or more hits.
Wallace, a native of Woodstock, Ga., also accounted for four of the nine RBI for the Gators, while Lindsey and fellow senior Charla Echols also accounted for a pair of RBI each.
To start the game, the Blue Devils (5-2) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on the Gators and freshman right-handed pitcher Lexie Delbrey. With runners on first and second with no outs, Wallace made an incredible leaping grab on a bunt to stifle the building momentum by Duke for a big out.
However, Jameson Kavel later drove in Ana Gold and Kelly Torres with a one out double to center field, but Delbrey bounced back to limit the damage and retired the next two batters via back-to-back popups.
The Florida hitters responded in the home half of the inning and took the lead when it was the Orange and Blue’s turn to bat. Wallace sparked the offense with a solo home run to center field and Lindsey gave UF a 3-2 lead with her two-RBI double to center field.
With the lead in hand headed to the top of the 2nd inning, Delbrey was relieved by NFCA All-American right-hander Elizabeth Hightower. The Monticello, Fla. native took over the game from the circle as she pitched 6.0 innings and limited the Blue Devils to just two hits and one run for the rest of the game.
The Gators offense continued to roll as the team struck for one run in the 2nd, two runs in the 4th and three in the 5th to take the convincing 9-3 victory.
Florida returns to action on day two of the T-Mobile Tournament Saturday with a pair of games against Villanova and Louisville at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.
Quotes
Head Coach Tim Walton
On how the team is looking early on in the season after defeating its second Top 25 opponent…
“That’s a good softball team. So, I like where we’re at. Every time you put together a schedule you circle a couple dates and this was one of the days I circled on the calendar for a while going ‘Hey it’s going to be a big game on a Friday night’ and sure enough we had a great crowd tonight. I really appreciate everybody coming out and having fun and cheering. We made it really fun in the first inning, but I think overall it was a circled game that I put on the schedule and said ‘Hey this is going to be a kind of see where we’re at kind of a game’ and I think we’re checking all the boxes right now.”
Skylar Wallace
On the offenses’ momentum after her home run in the first…
“I think that was the start of it. I mean just finding one person to spark our lineup is key and once we find that spark it just rolls from there, so just getting that hit was huge just to show that like hey even though they jumped on us first we can jump back.”
On improvement since being at Florida…
“Gaining confidence from Coach Thomas on my hitting, because I kind of grew up being a slapper and relying on my speed and then coming to Florida he’s always said “You can hit the ball and you can be a triple threat.” So being able to bunt, slap, hit and just perfect all of those and use those tools whenever I need to so that if there are five people in the infield I can do something different. So just kind of fine tuning all of those things.”
Notables:
* Tonight was the first ever meeting between the Gators and the Blue Devils.
* UF also improved to 347-261 all-time against NFCA Top 25 teams and 305-172 against teams ranked inside the USA Softball Top 25.
* Skylar Wallace accounted for four RBI in tonight’s win and belted her first home run as a Gator in the bottom of the 1st inning to spark the offense.
* Wallace stole one base tonight, which gives her six on the season.
* The team has now stolen a base in every game this year so far.
* Wallace and Falby each extended their hit streaks to seven games, while Lindsey extended her streak out to six games.
* Wallace, Falby and Hannah Adams have reached base safely in every game so far this season.
The Gators complete the first phase of their offseason program Thursday, and Florida coach Billy Napier will meet with the media Friday to discuss the start of phase two.
Napier has an eight-phase, year-round football plan that he calls ‘The Journey.’ The first phase, Foundation, began on Jan. 18 and the second phase, Identity, will take place in UF’s indoor practice facility over the next four weeks.
“We’ll start phase two on Friday. It’s what we call our identity program,” Napier said in an interview with ESPN Gainesville’s Steve Russell. “It’s 15 sessions. One hour, between 4 and 5 o’clock, four days a week. It’s really to kind of create momentum for spring practice. The first half of that is probably the most difficult and challenging thing we do the entire year from a mental and physical toughness standpoint.”
The difficulty of phase two makes it one of Napier’s favorite times of the year because it pushes players to their limits and builds camaraderie.
“We’re trying to create intangibles on our team. We’re creating leadership opportunities. We want to really work on the integrity of each player, the togetherness of our team, the effort, discipline and toughness and then the certain belief that each individual can do it,” Napier said.
“It gives an opportunity for the coaches and players to build some relationships on the way towards spring practice. So, in general, it’s one of my favorite times of the year because 75 percent of your team — the ones you’re going to play with in the fall — they’re in that indoor for every one of those 15 sessions.”
After the ‘identity’ program ends in early March, the Gators will begin the third phase of their offseason: Spring Ball. Napier discussed what he will look to accomplish during those 15 practices.
“Well, I think what we want to do here is really get expectations established,” Napier said of phase three. “I think it’s important that we define expectations for everybody in the organization. Obviously some of these people have been with me before. For the players, a lot of it is going to be brand new. So defining expectations, being consistent, being fair.
“I think it’s important that we really spell out what discipline is, we spell out what attention to detail is. The simple things like getting our offense and defense and special teams systems taught, I think those are really important. But, we want to get into our year-round plan.”
The Gators will conclude spring football with the Orange & Blue Game on April 16 at 1 p.m.
TAMPA – No. 6 Florida handily defeated South Florida 12-0 early Sunday afternoon on the final day of the USF – Rawlings Invitational. The three-hit shutout was the third time this weekend that UF held opponents scoreless.
The Gators (4-0) picked up another solid pitching performance from its staff as senior Elizabeth Hightower (3-0) hurled 4.0 innings and only allowed one hit, while junior Rylee Trlicek (Hallettsville, Texas) picked up her first save of the year with 3.0 quality innings worth of work in relief.
Over the weekend, Hightower threw 12.1 innings, struck out 12 batters and allowed only one run. The Monticello, Fla. native held opposing batters over that stretch to a .140 batting average.
In the game against USF (3-1), only a pair of Bulls were able to reach second base in the contest as the Gators defense made several highlight worthy plays. In the 2nd inning, senior Charla Echols (Newnan, Ga.) made an excellent stop down the third base line and the 2021 All-SEC Defensive Team third baseman a tremendous throw to Hannah Adams (Hoschton, Ga.) at second for a key force out.
Adams, a 2021 SEC All-Defensive Team second baseman, followed up in the 7th inning to roll an impressive 4-3 double play and freshman Kendra Falby (Odessa, Fla.) ended the game with a picturesque leaping grab in deep center field to end the game.
Offensively, 11 different Florida batters combined for 12 total hits in the contest with redshirt-junior Skylar Wallace (Woodstock, Ga.) leading the way going 2-for-3. In that group of hits was the first collegiate base knock for freshman catcher Cali Decker (Lake Mary, Fla.) along with the first hits of the season for Echols and Bryn Thomas (Trenton, Fla.).
With their hits today, Wallace, Adams and Falby extended their hitting streaks out to four games, while Lindsey is now on a three-game hitting streak.
In addition, Falby stole her fourth base in as many games and Wallace notched her third of the season in today’s game.
The Gators return to action Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. with a single game at Jacksonville and then will host the Dolphins the following day at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium at 6 p.m.
Notables:
* UF improved to 58-13 all-time against USF.
* Head Coach Tim Walton now holds a career record of 966-246 as he is in his 20th season of being a head coach.
* UF now has three shutouts in four games played in the 2022 season and the pitching staff has held opposing batters to a .128 batting average at the plate.
* Today was also the second game of the season that Florida batters have produced 10 or more hits in a game.
* Hannah Adams, Kendra Falby and Skylar Wallace each have a four-game hitting streak, while Cheyenne Lindsey is on a three-game streak.
* Overall the Gators have nine stolen bases on the season with Falby (4-for-4), Wallace (3-for-3) and Adams (2-for-2) leading the way.
The Florida Gators softball team won both of its games Saturday, beating the Kansas City Roos 7-1 and the No. 16 Michigan Wolverines 4-0 in Tampa.
The Gators improved to 3-0 on the season with one more matchup this weekend. They face the USF Bulls on Sunday at noon in their final game at the USF-Rawlings Invitational.
The Gators’ victory over the Wolverines was all about pitching and defense for both teams.“I was really excited,” Delbrey said. “This is one of my biggest dreams ever, so I just wanted to compete against them.”
Delbrey pitched all seven innings in her starting debut and lost her no-hit bid after 6.1 innings pitched.
Still, it was an incredible performance from Delbrey, who finished with five strikeouts and held the Wolverines to just one hit and no runs.
“I felt really good,” Delbrey said. “I was a little too excited at first, but then I kind of calmed down, and then all of my pitches started settling down and looking better.”
Lindsey wasted no time, cranking a grand slam over the wall and giving the Gators a 4-0 advantage.
“I was really just trying not to make the moment bigger than what it was, stay poised and just keep my swing the same,” Lindsey said. “I’ve been hitting and making really good contact, so just staying the same and not letting the situation get me worked up.”
The Kansas City bats got hot in the first inning when the Roos scored their only run of the game. From there, starting UF pitcher Elizabeth Hightower took over and earned her second win of the season.
Hightower finished the day with 5.2 innings pitched, allowing five hits and two strikeouts.
Florida claimed the lead in the bottom of the second inning when left fielder Kendra Falby hit the first homer of her career, driving in two runs.
UF catcher Sam Roe’s first hit of her young career was a solo home run in the fourth inning, extending Florida’s lead out to 3-1.
The Gators’ bats were on fire in the bottom of the sixth when center fielder Cheyenne Lindsey drove in two runs with a triple to right center field. Roe added another one with a sacrifice bunt to bring Lindsey home.
The Gators will look for a 4-0 start to the 2022 season against the USF Bulls on Sunday.
Special report on the Florida Gators lacrosse team:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The seventh-ranked Florida lacrosse team kicked off the 2022 season on a high note on Saturday, defeating the Kennesaw State Owls 22-7 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Florida was led offensively by freshman Emma LoPinto, who notched eight points on six goals and two assists in her collegiate debut. That marks the most goals scored by a Florida player in a season opener in program history and ties the program record for most goals scored by a freshman.
Danielle Pavinelli added four goals of her own in the victory – tying her career-high – followed by two apiece from Maggi Hall and Emily Heller. Eight Gators each registered one goal on the afternoon: Paisley Eagan, Brie Catts, Kaala Puglisi, Celeste Forte, Ashley Gonzalez, Charlotte Harmon, Kylee Hubiak and Bella Palagonia.
Florida won the battle in the draw circle, coming up with 18-of-32 draws – led by four apiece from Heller and Sawers.
The Gators’ defense held the Owls to just 7-of-18 shooting in the game and registered 10 caused turnovers. Forte led the way with two, while Leigh Lingo, Catherine Flaherty, Becky Browndorf, Maeson Tydings, Sarah Mackey, Eagan, Hall and Gonzalez each recorded one.
Emma Wightman and Mackey each notched a team-high two groundballs, while 10 other Gators each recorded one groundball in the win.
In the cage, Reznick tallied three saves in her 45:00 between the pipes, while Julia Hammerschlag notched one save in her 15 minutes of action.
The Gators return to the field on Tuesday to take on Scotland in an exhibition game. Opening draw is set for 6:30 p.m. at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.
Records
No. 7 Florida (1-0)
Kennesaw State (0-1)
How it Happened
TAMPA – The No. 6-ranked Florida softball team picked up a 3-0 victory Friday evening over Illinois State on Opening Day at the USF – Rawlings Invitational.
The Gators (1-0) were led in the circle by Natalie Lugo, Elizabeth Hightower (1-0) and Lexie Delbrey (1 SV). The trio combined for 11 strikeouts and the program’s 21st career opening day shutout.
Hightower picked up the victory after she entered in relief in the third inning with Redbirds on the corners with one out. The Monticello, Fla. native hit the first batter she faced to load the bases, but went on to record back-to-back swinging strikeouts.
From there, the NFCA Third Team All-American, went on to retire six-straight additional batters, before being relieved by freshman Lexie Delbrey. Delbrey, a Bainbridge, Ga. native, picked up her first career save as she retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts to end the game.
Lugo, a native of West Covina, Calif., threw 3.1 innings as the starter of today’s game and struck out three, while allowing only three hits and a pair of walks.
Offensively, Florida broke open the scoring in the top of the 2nd inning of play. Sophomore catcher Emily Wilkie (Cumming, Ga.) produced a two-out single, which was then followed up by fellow sophomore outfielder Avery Goelz’s RBI triple to center field.
Freshman outfielder Kendra Falby drove in Goelz during the ensuing at-bad with an RBI double down the left field line to give UF a 2-0 lead.
Hannah Adams (Hoschton, Ga.) and Skylar Wallace (Woodstock, Ga.) also picked up base hits in the contest with Wallace adding two stolen base and Adams swiped one in the effort.
Overall, the Gators stole five bases in tonight’s game.
The Gators return to action Saturday, Feb. 12, with a pair of games against Kansas City at 10:30 a.m. and No. 16 Michigan at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN 98.1FM/850AM WRUF and on The Varsity Network app.
Notes:
