In the first postseason start of her young career, freshman Lauren Haeger pitched a gem for No. 7 Florida Gators softball, which used a late run to take down the LSU Tigers 1-0 in the first game of the 2012 Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Haeger allowed two hits while striking out eight in her complete game outing for Florida (45-10) with her only flaw being the five walks she scattered over seven innings. She was not alone in allowing free passes on Thursday as LSU (34-22) starter Brittany Mack was also generous, giving up three walks and hit four batters in her five innings.

The pitchers’ duel between Haeger and Mack lasted 4.5 innings. Mack was nursing a no-hitter until the bottom of the fifth when she walked freshman designated hitter Bailey Castro (0/2, BB) and gave up her first hit of the game three batters later to freshman third baseman Sami Fagan (1/3, RBI, SB). Fagan’s RBI single scored freshman Brianna Little (who pinch ran for Castro) from second for the only run of the game.

The Gatos advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals where they will face either two-seed Tennessee or seven-seed Auburn on Friday at 2 p.m. live on ESPNU. Three-seed Florida must win that game to compete Saturday in the SEC Tournament final for the first time since winning the event in 2009.

Tags: Bailey Castro, Brianna Little, Lauren Haeger, Sami Fagan, SEC, SEC Tournament, softball

The Southeastern Conference released its annual awards for the sport of softball on Wednesday, and the Florida Gators came away with a prestigious individual award along with nine total placements (seven players) on the various All-SEC teams.

Senior outfielder Michelle Moultrie became the second-straight and fourth Florida player all-time to be named SEC Player of the Year (Kelsey Bruder won the award in 2011). Underrated coming out of high school, Moultrie has been one of the most consistent, reliable and game-changing players that the Gators have seen.

She leads the SEC in batting average (.395) and fielding percentage (1.000) and tops Florida’s roster in runs scored (58), total bases (108), slugging percentage (.667), on-base percentage (.495) and steals (21). Moultrie also has 10 homers, 29 RBIs and 24 walks so far in her senior campaign.

First Team All-SEC
CF Michelle Moultrie (senior)

Second Team All-SEC
P Hannah Rogers (sophomore)
C Kelsey Horton (junior)

Freshman All-SEC Team
P Alyssa Bache (freshman)
P/DH Lauren Haeger (freshman)
3B Sami Fagan (freshman)
OF Jessica Damico (freshman)

SEC All-Defensive Team
P Hannah Rogers (sophomore)
CF Michelle Moultrie (senior)

Photo Credit: Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Tags: All-SEC, Alyssa Bache, Hannah Rogers, Jessica Damico, Kelsey Bruder, Kelsey Horton, Lauren Haeger, Michelle Moultrie, Player of the Year, Sami Fagan, SEC, softball

No. 7 Florida Gators softball failed in their opportunity to capture a regular season title on Sunday, losing two of three games to the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide over the weekend and finishing third in the Southeastern Conference.

Florida (44-10, 21-7 SEC) opened the three-game series with a 4-1 win over Alabama (46-6, 22-5 SEC) on Friday but was routed Saturday in a 9-1 loss and defeated 5-3 on Sunday as the Crimson Tide took firm grasp of the 2012 SEC regular season championship. The Gators had to win two of three games in order to bring the title back home to Gainesville, FL.

Sophomore right-hander Hannah Rogers pitched a gem in the opening game, allowing one earned on three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in a complete game effort. However, she struggled mightily on Saturday (2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and was even less effective on Sunday (0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER) as she fell to 26-6 on the season with a victory and two losses.

Freshman designated hitter Lauren Haeger was Florida’s only consistently productive batter in the three-game series, finishing 4/8 with a homer, four RBIs, a run and a walk. She also filled in for Rogers after she was pulled without recording an out on Sunday; Haeger allowed five hits and gave up an earned run while striking out six in 6.0 innings.

The Gators also celebrated Senior Day over the weekend, honoring center fielder Michelle Moultrie for her contributions to the team over the last four seasons. She finished the series 2/8 with a RBI, two runs and a walk.

UF will now set their sights on competing for the 2012 SEC Tournament title. Florida, the No. 3 seed in the event, will take on No. 6 seed LSU in first-round action on May 10 at 12 p.m. on ESPNU. The Gators would have to win three games over three days to bring home the tournament championship for the first time since 2009.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Hannah Rogers, Lauren Haeger, Michelle Moultrie, SEC, SEC Tournament, softball

1 » Florida Gators freshman gymnast Kytra Hunter, who won a pair of 2012 NCAA Championships in the all-around and vault last month, was named the recipient of the Honda Sports Award on Wednesday. The honor, which basically makes Hunter the “gymnast of the year” by recognizing her as the best student-athlete in her sport, is awarded to one female in 12 different NCAA-sanctioned sports. It is the second straight year that a Gators student-athlete has won one of the awards with outfielder Kelsey Bruder bringing home the honor for softball in 2011. In the 36-year history of the Honda Sports Award, Florida has won it 15 times in six different sports (UF student-athletes were honored in two sports in 1982).

2 » One of six Florida lacrosse players to be honored by the American Lacrosse Conference on Wednesday, freshman midfielder Nora Barry was named the 2012 ALC Rookie of the Year after registering 32 goals (on 54 shots) in 17 games during the regular season. Barry’s goal total was the fifth-highest on the Gators, but she led the team in ground balls and also finished second in draw controls. Three Florida juniors – attacker Kitty Cullen, M Brittany Dashiell and defender Sam Farrell – were named to the All-ALC First Team, while Barry, junior goalkeeper Mikey Meagher and junior A Gabi Wiegand received second-team nods.

3 » Four members of No. 2 Gators women’s tennis found themselves placed in the brackets for the 2012 NCAA Individual Championships when the selections were announced on Wednesday. Junior Allie Will not only earned the No. 1 seed in the singles tournament but is also one half of the No. 1 doubles team along with sophomore Sofie Oyen. Junior Lauren Embree was placed in the grouping of singles seeds 9-16, Oyen was chosen as an alternate and the pairing of Embree/senior Joanna Mather also made it as an at-large doubles team. Florida has not won a NCAA singles title since 1996 (Jill Craybas) or a doubles title since 2001 (Whitney Laiho/Jessica Lehnhoff).

4 » No. 11 UF men’s tennis also had four players selected for the NCAA Individual Championships as senior Nassim Slilam and juniors Tripper Carleton and Bob van Overbeek all received at-large bids for the singles bracket. (Sophomore Spencer Newman is listed as an alternate.) Additionally, the duo of Slilam/junior Billy Federhofer will compete in the doubles draw. The Gators have not won a NCAA singles title since 1999 (Jeff Morrison) or a doubles title since 1993 (Mark Merklein/David Blair).

Tags: ALC, All-ALC, Allie Will, Billy Federhofer, Bob Van Overbeek, Brittany Dashiell, Gabi Wiegand, gymnastics, Honda Sports Award, Joanna Mather, Kelsey Bruder, Kitty Cullen, Kytra Hunter, lacrosse, Lauren Embree, Mikey Meagher, Nassim Slilam, NCAA, NCAA Championship, Nora Barry, Rookie of the Year, Sam Farrell, Sofie Oyen, softball, Spencer Newman, tennis, Tripper Carleton

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. In these instances, or when stories fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Florida Gators baseball (33-12, 12-9 SEC) continued to falter over the weekend, dropping two of three games to the Arkansas Razorbacks (31-13, 11-10 SEC). Florida has now lost 10 of their last 20 games (including one each to North Florida and South Florida) while also struggling to put forth consistent performances at the plate and on the mound. For instance, the Gators scored just five runs in 27 innings over the weekend. Florida picked up a 3-2 victory on Friday before falling 5-1 on Saturday and 3-1 in 10 innings on Sunday. The Gators were supposed to get a reprieve with a nine-game homestand but instead went just 5-4 over that span of games. Florida will have three full days off before travelling to Kentucky for a three-game series on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. UF fell to No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Top 25 and No. 7 in the Baseball America rankings on Monday.

» Gators softball (43-8, 20-5 SEC), also ranked No. 2 heading into the weekend, dropped their final home series of the regular season to the Kentucky Wildcats (26-27, 12-13 SEC) over the weekend. Florida fell 2-0 in the series opener (their second-straight shutout and fourth of the season) before picking up a 5-0 win on Senior Day Saturday and dropping the rubber match 5-1 on Sunday. Freshman right-handed pitcher Lauren Haeger picked up a win on Saturday and a loss on Sunday to bring her to 13-4 on the season while sophomore RHP Hannah Rogers (25-4) added a loss Friday despite pitching quite well over the weekend. Senior center fielder Michelle Moultrie (2/4, HR, 2 RBI, R) began her Senior Day with a big-time solo homer in her first at bat on Saturday, giving her another nice memory for her career. UF will conclude the regular season with a three-game road series at Alabama over the weekend.

» Florida five-star 2013 point guard commit Kasey Hill (Clermont, FL) threw down a strong dunk over the weekend and followed it up with a Gator Chomp while staring straight into the camera. Think he’s ready for the big time?

Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Monday, April 30

Tags: Angelina Ballatore, Arkansas Razorbacks, baseball, Bradley Beal, Chicago Bulls, Chris Rainey, Cleveland Cavaliers, Draft, Gator Chomp, Hannah Rogers, Janoris Jenkins, Joakim Noah, Kasey Hill, Kentucky Wildcats, Lauren Haeger, Michelle Moultrie, NBA, NFL, Ohio State Buckeyes, Olympics, Pittsburgh Steelers, Ron Ballatore, SEC, softball, St. Louis Rams, swimming, Tim Tebow, Top 25, Urban Meyer

1 » Falling to 8-8 in their last 16 games dating back to March 30, No. 2/5 Florida Gators baseball (31-10) was edged 5-3 by the South Florida Bulls (28-14) at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday. Florida fell behind 2-0 in the top of the second after a fielding error by sophomore third baseman Cody Dent allowed the inning to continue and two runs to eventually score. Freshman right-hander Johnny Magliozzi (4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 4 K) was replaced by sophomore left-hander Daniel Gibson in the fifth but things did not get any better for the Gators on the mound. Gibson gave up solo homer in the sixth, but Florida immediately answered with a pair of dingers from juniors shortstop Nolan Fontana (2/5, HR, RBI, R) and catcher Mike Zunino (2/5, HR, 2 RBI, R) to tie the game 3-3. However, Gibson (1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB) allowed a lead-off walk in the seventh that eventually scored and registered as the game-winning run. USF added another bomb in the top of the eighth to increase their lead to two runs and UF faltered late offensively by stranding six runners on base over the final three innings (Zunino grounded out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth).

2 » No. 2/4 Gators softball (42-6, 19-3 SEC) split a Tuesday doubleheader with the LSU Tigers (33-16, 14-8 SEC), winning the afternoon contest 2-1 in eight innings before dropping the evening game 1-0. Sophomore RHP Hannah Rogers (25-3, 8.0 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 5 K) went the distance in the extra innings affair that saw Florida fight tooth and nail for a victory. The Gators trailed 1-0 after Rogers allowed a run to score in the top of the seventh but evened things out in the bottom frame when junior right fielder Ensley Gammel (1/3, HR, RBI, R) homered to right. Rogers then forced three ground balls in the eighth with her defense completing a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning and give the offense another shot. Senior center fielder Michelle Moultrie (2/4, RBI) responded to the opportunity, doubling down the left field line to knock in the game-winning run. The latter contest was a true pitchers’ duel with freshman RHP Lauren Haeger (12-3, 7.0 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 BB, 9 K) and LSU’s Brittany Mack (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 8 K) both tossing complete games. The Tigers scored after a triple was driven home in the second and the Gators’ offense stalled just like the baseball team’s did down the stretch by stranding five runners on base over the final two innings.

Tags: baseball, Cody Dent, Daniel Gibson, Ensley Gammel, Hannah Rogers, Johnny Magliozzi, Lauren Haeger, LSU Tigers, McKethan Stadium, Michelle Moultrie, Mike Zunino, Nolan Fontana, Pressly Softball Stadium, softball, South Florida Bulls

1 » No. 1 Florida Gators gymnastics did everything they could during the 2012 NCAA Super Six on Saturday but came just short of earning their first national title as the Alabama Crimson Tide edged Florida 197.850-197.775 to win the 2012 NCAA Championship. One of four teams in 31 years to win the national title, Alabama captured their sixth in school history by a 0.075 margin thanks to a stellar 49.500 effort on the balance beam in the final rotation. The Gators led the Crimson Tide by 0.025 heading into the final rotation; however, Florida posted a 49.400 on the floor exercise, allowing Alabama to leap them and earn the championship. All is not lost for the Gators as UF’s individual gymnasts will compete for event national titles on Sunday. Freshman Kytra Hunter already won the NCAA Championship in the all-around on Friday.

2 » Looking to carry some momentum from the 16-inning marathon win Friday night, No. 1 Florida baseball (30-9, 10-7 SEC) was not as fortunate Saturday night falling 5-3 to the Georgia Bulldogs (24-16, 8-9 SEC) at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. UF led 2-1 after the first inning thanks to a two-run bomb by senior right fielder Preston Tucker (1/4, HR, 2 RBI, R, SB) but found themselves in a 4-2 hole after UGA rallied for three runs in the top of the third. A solo homer by senior center fielder Daniel Pigott (1/4, HR, RBI, R) cut the Gators’ deficit to a single run in the bottom of the fourth, but Bulldogs’ starter Michael Palazzone and reliever Blake Dieterich combined to no-hit Florida over the final five innings of the game. Georgia’s timely pitching and clutch defense handed the loss to junior left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson (5-2, 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 K). UF has not swept a weekend series in over a month hopes to pick up a series win in the rubber match on Sunday at 3 p.m. (ESPN2).

Click to expand and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Allie Will, baseball, Brian Johnson, Cheyenne Coyle, Daniel Pigott, Ensley Gammel, Florida International Golden Panthers, Georgia Bulldogs, gymnastics, Hannah Rogers, Jessica Damico, Joanna Mather, Kytra Hunter, Lauren Embree, McKethan Stadium, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Super Six, Ole Miss Rebels, Preston Tucker, Sami Fagan, SEC, SEC Tournament, Sofie Oyen, softball, tennis

1 » No. 1 Florida Gators baseball (30-8, 10-6 SEC) prevailed in a 16-inning marathon on Friday, defeating the Georgia Bulldogs (23-16, 7-9 SEC) 3-2 in the teams’ series opener at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Florida gave up a 2-1 lead in the top of the eighth as Georgia tied things up but neither team posted a run in the following 16 frames. Finally the Gators ended the game by forcing the Bulldogs to commit the first error of the contest for either team. Junior first baseman Vickash Ramjit walked with one out, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and moved over to third thanks to a wild pitch. Junior shortstop Nolan Fontana stepped up to the plate with hopes of driving Ramjit home but struck out swinging; however, Fontana’s third strike was dropped and an error by the catcher (a bad throw to first) allowed Ramjit to cross the plate. Right-handed relievers junior Austin Maddox and senior Greg Larson tossed the final 8.2 innings of the game. Maddox struck out five and allowed four hits in 5.2 innings, but Larson (5-0) earned the win after striking out two in three no-hit innings to conclude the contest. Friday’s game was the longest UF has participated in since 1996.

2 » No. 1 Florida gymnastics finished second in Session II of the 2012 NCAA Championships on Friday, advancing to the 2012 NCAA Super Six for a chance to win the first national title in team history. UF finished with a final score of 197.650, just 0.025 behind session winner Alabama. Freshman Kytra Hunter also captured the NCAA all-around individual national title – the first in team history – with a 39.725 in the event. The Gators will compete for the team national championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. (streamed live on ESPN3.com) and the rest of the individual titles on Sunday.

Click to expand and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Alex Cercone, Alyssa Bache, Austin Maddox, baseball, Briana Little, Cheyenne Coyle, Florida International Golden Panthers, Georgia Bulldogs, Greg Larson, gymnastics, Kelsey Horton, Kytra Hunter, Lauren Haeger, McKethan Stadium, NCAA, NCAA Championships, NCAA Super Six, Nolan Fontana, Ole Miss Rebels, Olivia Janowicz, Sami Fagan, SEC, SEC Tournament, Sofie Oyen, softball, Tennessee Volunteers, Vickash Ramjit