COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 15 Missouri evened the series with No. 3 Florida after a 10-2 (5 inning) decision at the Mizzou Softball Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Hannah Adams put the Gators on the board in the top of the 1
st inning of play via her seventh home run of the season. Adams sent the 3-2 offering from Laurin Krings (8-2) over the left center field wall to give UF an early 1-0 lead.
Missouri responded with four runs in the bottom of the 2
nd inning. The rally was started by a two-run home run from Emma Raabe that scored Cayla Kessinger to put the Tigers ahead 2-1. The lead was extended to 4-1 after a trio of consecutive singles from Kendyll Bailey, Alex Honnold and Brooke Wilmes.
Right-handed starting pitcher,
Natalie Lugo (13-2) was relieved by
Rylee Trlicek in the frame and she went on to force the Tigers to leave the bases loaded with back-to-back outs.
The Gators picked up a run in the top half of the 3
rd inning to close down the Missouri lead to 4-2. Adams led off the frame with a single off the center field wall, which was also followed up by a
Kendyl Lindaman double to right center that put runners on second and third. With one out on the board,
Julia Cottrill dropped in a RBI single to center field that scored Adams easily from third base.
The Tigers extended their lead out to 6-2 in the home half of the 3
rd via a two-out rally. Bailey led the charge with a single up the middle, which was followed by a Honnold single through the left side.
Wilmes then placed a bunt single in front of the plate, but a defensive miscue let the ball leak into the outfield which scored Bailey from third. A failed pickoff attempt capped the scoring as it allowed Honnold to score from third.
Missouri went on to plate two more runs in the 4
th and 5
th innings to take the 10-2 decision. Bailey produced a two-RBI single to center in the 4
th inning that scored Kessinger and Wert, while Hattie Moore concluded the scoring with a two-run home run in the 5
th inning.
The Gators and the Tigers will return action Sunday at 12 p.m. ET to play for the series.
Notable Notes:
- The Gators are now 13-5 all-time against Missouri.
- Hannah Adams turned in a 2-for-3 performance with her seventh home run of the season.
- It's her 17th multi-hit game of the season and she has now reached base safely in 29 consecutive games.
- Julia Cottrill went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the today's contest.
- She is now riding a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in nine consecutive games. The streak is the third longest on the team for this season.
- Charla Echols turned in a 1-for-3 performance with her eighth double of the season.
- Echols has now reached base safely in 26 consecutive games for the Gators.
- Kendyl Lindaman went 1-for-3 today and tallied her seventh double of the year.
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