Florida baseball sweeps; softball gets swept

Both marred in slumps in Southeastern Conference play, Florida Gators baseball and softball took divergent paths over the weekend. Breaking out of the doldrums, the No. 3/4 baseball team improved to 24-5 with a three-game sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers at home, while No. 5/5 softball lost their sixth-straight game and fell to 30-7 after being swept over three contests by the No. 23/24 Kentucky Wildcats on the road.

BASEBALL

After going 1-3 from March 25-29, Florida (24-5, 7-2 SEC) rebounded and outscored Tennessee (19-9, 2-7 SEC) 23-3 over a three-game period to recapture the form they’ve had most of the season.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall (5-0) took the mound Friday for the Gators and pitched his second-straight complete game to lead his team to a 3-0 victory. Randall’s complete game shutout was Florida’s first since 2004; he struck out four and only gave up four hits in the contest. Sophomore first baseman Austin Maddox (1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R) got the Gators on the board early with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second, and sophomore catcher Mike Zunino (1-4) scored on a wild pitch in the eight to notch UF’s only other run of the day.

Florida’s offense exploded on Saturday as sophomore shortstop Nolan Fontana (3-4, 6 RBI, R, BB) continued his fantastic season by knocking in six runs and collecting a trio of hits on the afternoon. Joining him with great performances at the plate were junior left fielder Daniel Pigott (2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB) and senior second baseman Josh Adams (2-2, 2 R). Sophomore left-handed pitcher Brian Johnson started the game for the Gators but was pulled after giving up two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings. He was replaced by junior RHP Anthony DeSclafani (4-0), who collected the victory in 2.2 innings of work.

UF’s performance Sunday mirrored their effort Saturday as they thwarted UT 9-1 to complete the three-game sweep. Freshman RHP Karsten Whitson (4-0) got the Gators started by striking out six in 5.0 inning to earn the win; Florida used four relievers to complete the game. Maddox (3-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB) piled on the runs at the plate and was backed-up with great performances by Fontana (2-4, 2 RBI), Zunino (1-3, 3 R, 2 BB) and Adams (1-3, 2 RBI, BB). Already up 4-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Gators scored five additional runs in the frame to put the game out of reach for the Vols.

[EXPAND Click to expand and read the softball portion of this post.]SOFTBALL

On a three-game losing streak after being swept by Georgia one week ago, Florida (30-7, 7-6 SEC) continued to flounder over the weekend as Kentucky (25-7, 11-3 SEC) outscored them 26-10 over the course of three games in Lexington, KY.

Freshman RHP Hannah Rogers was lit up Friday as she allowed 11 hits and 10 earned runs while striking out six. She did not receive much help from her teammates as the Gators only crossed the plate twice on a pair of solo homers from senior LF Kelsey Bruder (1-3, HR, RBI, R) and sophomore C Brittany Schutte (1-3, HR, RBI, R).

Rogers’s struggles continued Saturday as she gathered her second loss after allowing six earned runs – including three in the opening frame – on nine hits in six full innings. UF actually lead 6-3 after putting up a five-run fourth inning, but Rogers let UK retake the lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the inning. Senior second baseman Aja Paculba (1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R) put up most of Florida’s runs, but sophomore pinch hitter Samantha Holle (1-1, 2 RBI) and senior first baseman Megan Bush (1-4, RBI) drove in the others.

The weekend came to a rough conclusion Sunday with Rogers (16-5) dropping her fourth-straight decision by letting the Wildcats rock her for nine earned runs on seven hits. The Gators were doomed from the start as their opponent scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and held on for the victory. Florida’s only offense came in the top of the fifth when Paculba (1-4, 2 RBI) hit a two-run double with one out.

Why is the softball team struggling? In addition to Florida’s bats going cold (they were averaging 12.2 runs per game in the six contests prior to the start of their losing streak), the team is forced to continue pitching Rogers while dealing with the loss of senior ace RHP Stephanie Brombacher, who has been sidelined since March 12 with a multitude of arm injuries. UF has plenty of time to right the ship with 18 games (including 12 at home) remaining until SEC postseason competition begins on May 12.[/EXPAND]