TeamHuddle_220422_7982_HannahWhite
Hannah White
The Gators will look to even the series Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
9
Winner Arkansas ARK 33-8
1
Florida UF 35-10
Winner
Arkansas ARK
33-8
9
Final
1
Florida UF
35-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Arkansas ARK 0 0 0 0 5 4 9 7 0
Florida UF 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 4 3

W: Chenise Delce (12-2) L: Hightower, Elizabeth (12-3)

Game Recap: Softball | | Herb Brooks

No. 8 Gators Fall to No. 7 Razorbacks in Series Opener

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Florida softball team fell, 9-1 (6), to No. 7 Arkansas to open the series Friday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

The Gators (35-10, 11-8 SEC) and the Razorbacks (33-8, 11-5 SEC) were locked into a pitchers' duel between starters Elizabeth Hightower (12-4) and Chenise Delce (12-2) for four-complete innings of play.

The pair of hurlers went blow-for-blow as Hightower racked up seven strikeouts and held a potent Arkansas offense to just one hit through the first four innings, while Delce picked up four strikeouts and scattered two hits over the same span.

In addition to the pitchers' duel in the circle, Florida's defense made a pair of standout plays as Charla Echols capped the scoreless second inning with a great grab over the railing next to the third base dugout and Skylar Wallace doubled up the Razorbacks on a line drive to end the third inning.

However, Arkansas made the most of a pair of defensive miscues in the top of the fifth inning. The first two Razorbacks reached via infield errors, which turned the lineup back to the top of the order and provided the opportunity for KB Sides, Danielle Gibson and Linnie Malkin to produce RBI base hits that give their team a 5-0 lead.

The Razorbacks added four more runs thanks to three hits, three walks and a third Florida defensive in the following frame to extend their lead out to 9-0 over the Gators.

Florida closed down the lead to 9-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning via a pair of back-to-back singles from Skylar Wallace and Kendra Falby. Wallace ripped an infield single back to Delce in the circle, then proceeded to steal her 38th base of the season to move into scoring position for Falby.

Falby worked a 3-1 count during her at-bat and drove a pitch offered from Delce back up the middle to score the speedy Wallace from second to conclude the scoring.

The two teams will square off again Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The Gators will hold their senior day festivities and recognize Hannah Adams, Natalie Lugo, Cheyenne Lindsey and Marissa Mesiemore prior to the start of the game.

Notables:
  • Elizabeth Hightower stretched her scoreless inning streak to 11.2, tying her season-high.
    • The senior struck out seven making it the fourth start she's registered at-least seven strikeouts.
  • Kendra Falby contributed her 19th multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
    • The Odessa, Fla. native's 55 hits ties her for 10th most hits in a single season by a freshman.
  • Skylar Wallace extended her base streak to 14 games with an infield single in the 6th inning.
    • This ties her season-high she accomplished from Feb. 20-March 13.
    • The redshirt-junior stole her 38th base following the single.
  • Charla Echols extended her base streak to nine games via a single in the 4th inning.
  • The Gators stole two bases in tonight's game to bring the team's season total to 101.
    • It's only the seventh time in program history that the Gators have stolen a minimum 100 bases in a season and the first time since 2014 to have stolen at least 100 bases.
 
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