College Softball News

Rogers Collects 100th Career Win in Doubleheader Sweep

Ryan Schmitz (Photo Courtesy of Florida Athletics)

Las Vegas, Gator Softball swept a pair of games against Seattle University and Hawaii on Friday (Feb. 14) on the first day of the Easton Desert Classic at Eller Media Stadium. Florida took the first game against SU, 8-1, and won the second game over the Rainbow Wahine by mercy rule, 11-1 (5 innings). Senior pitcher Hannah Rogers earned her 100th career victory in the win over Hawaii.

Junior outfielder Bailey Castro opened the scoring for UF in the first with an RBI single that scored Kirsti Merritt. The next inning, Stephanie Tofft led off with a double before sophomore catcher Aubree Munro hit her first career home run. Kelsey Stewart uncorked an inside-the-park home run later in the frame, bringing home Justine McLean and Taylore Fuller. Merritt doubled after Stewart’s home run, and later scored on a Taylor Schwarz single.

Seattle broke through in the fifth on an RBI double by Sarah Petosa, but the Gators matched that run on a home run from Fuller in the bottom of the frame to give the Orange and Blue an 8-1 lead that proved to be the final margin.

In the second contest, Rogers earned the milestone victory by limiting the Hawaii offense to just one run on one hit in four innings, while walking one batter and striking out three. Freshman lefty Delanie Gourley pitched the fifth to close out UF’s 11-1 win, which was keyed by four Gator home runs.

Merritt started the scoring with a single in the second to score Fuller and Katie Medina, who both had walked. Stewart advanced to third on the play, and a double-steal resulted in a steal of home for the second baseman. Florida put up three more runs in the fourth, starting with Stewart’s triple that brought home Fuller, who had led off the frame with a walk. Stewart scored on a sac fly by Merritt before Lauren Haeger hit a solo home run, her first of two in the game.

Florida added five more runs in the fifth to seal the win, starting with Munro’s second home run of the day to lead off the inning. After Fuller was hit by a pitch and Medina reached on a bunt, another double-steal produced a second steal of home, this time from Fuller. Stewart continued the scoring with her second home run of the day—this one of the conventional variety over the right-field fence—before Haeger capped the Gators’ offensive outburst with her second solo shot of the game.


NOTABLES

· Hannah Rogers earned her 100th career win at UF in the victory over Hawaii, becoming the second Florida hurler to reach the century mark in wins. The senior’s record as a Gator now stands at 100-23. Gator Great Stacey Nelson was 136-36 in her career (2006-09).

· Aubree Munro hit the first home run of her Gators career in the second inning of the Seattle game, and added a second homer in the fifth against Hawaii.

· Florida stole home twice during the victory over the Rainbow Wahine.

WALTON’S WORDS

On Rogers’ 100th win as a Gator:

“Anytime you think of Hannah Rogers, you think of somebody who just goes about her business all the time. She gives you a chance to win every time she toes the rubber. I’m really proud of her for this accomplishment. For her to be only the second pitcher in the program’s history to get [100 wins], it says a lot about her and it says a lot about the teams she’s played on. Her work ethic and her ability to go out and win softball games for us are tremendous.”

On Munro’s two home runs and the work she’s put in to improve her hitting:

“She had a great offseason. She’s getting stronger and more confident. She has the right kind of mentality as she goes to the plate. She’s hit balls with two strikes, she’s hit first pitches, she’s hit balls on 3-0 counts. She’s really going after good pitches. Anytime you can see a trend of a hitter hitting in any count, you have to give her a lot of credit for having confidence. Her swing is much improved, her balance is much improved, and she’s seeing the ball well.”

On what the Gators have to do to continue their solid offensive production:

“I think if this team can hit like we did today and continue to hit like this at any point during the season, we’re going to give our team a great chance to win. We play great defense [and] we’re pitching really well. I think that more than anything it’s just a contagious feeling, taking good at-bats, getting good pitches to hit and putting good swings on them.”

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