CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The third-ranked Florida softball team fell to No. 22 Oregon, 8-0, and Cal State Fullerton, 5-4 (8 innings), Saturday afternoon at Big League Dreams sports park.
The Gators (11-3) outhit the Titans (9-6), 10-8, in an extra-inning thriller to conclude their stay at the Mary Nutter, but fell in their first extra-inning game of the season.
Sam Roe (3-for-4),
Avery Goelz (2-for-4) and
Kendra Falby (2-for-5) each tallied multi-hit games as the Orange & Blue racked up 10 total hits.
Florida fell behind in the bottom of the 3
rd inning, 3-0, via an RBI groundout and a two-run home run by Hannah Beccera, but fought back into the contest in the top of the 5
th inning when
Katie Kistler scored on
Charla Echols RBI groundout to second base.
UF continued to rally in the top of the 6
th inning and tied the game 3-3 with a pair of runs. Roe and Goelz notched back-to-back one singles to set the table for Kistler, who roped a shot to the Titans shortstop that wasn't able to handle the ball and allowed Roe to score. Falby came through to tie the game with her two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield that scored Goelz.
With the game tied and a runner on second with one out in the bottom of the 7
th inning, the Titans looked to end the game in regulation but Florida's annually touted defense turned a perfectly executed 6-3-5 double play to end the threat and setup the opportunity for the program's first extra-inning game of the season.
In the top of the 8
th inning, Goelz was placed on second base to start the frame in accordance with international tiebreaker rule. With the speedy Goelz on second base, the Titans reliever Raci Miranda (3-2) hurled a ball to the backstop that allowed Goelz to advance to third. After a groundout, Kistler drove home Goelz with a sharply hit ball through the left side to give the Gators a 4-3 lead.
Unfortunately, Cal State Fullerton ended the game with a two-run home run from Beccera in the bottom of the 8
th inning to end the game.
The Gators started the morning with a cold and rainy battle against the Ducks (10-3). The contest pitted UF right-handed pitcher
Elizabeth Hightower (6-2) against Oregon's Stevie Hansen (6-2). Hightower went 4 1/3 innings in the circle and was relieved by Trlicek for the final 2 2/3 innings, while Hansen notched a complete-game effort.
The top four batters in Oregon's lineup accounted for seven of the nine total Oregon hits, while Florida sophomore
Kendra Falby went 1-for-3 at the plate.
After the long journey to California, the Gators will take the week to prepare for another road trip with a three-game series March 3-5 at UAB.
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Notables:
- Kendra Falby extended her hitting streak to three games and now has produced a hit in 13 of the 14 games play so far this season.
- Avery Goelz and Kendra Falby each notched multi-hit games against the Titans and the pair has a team leading six multi-hit games each.
- Sam Roe tied her career-high with three hits in the game against Cal State Fullerton. The last time she produced three hits in a game was against Boston University this season.
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