GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The eighth-ranked Florida softball team opened up play at the Bubly Invitational with a 14-3 (5 innings) win over Mercer Friday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, but weather forced UF's game with RV/No. 24 Louisiana to be moved to Sunday at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on SEC Network+.
The Gators (16-3) cranked out 14 hits, the second most this season, and plated 14 runs in the victory over the Bears (6-16) to open play today. The trio of
Kendra Falby (4-for-4),
Charla Echols (3-for-4) and
Olivia Gigante (3-for-4) accounted for 10 of the 14 hits for the Orange & Blue.
Florida's offense electric for the entire game as the team posted three runs in the 1
st inning, five runs in the 2
nd and 3
rd innings of play and one in the 4
th inning.
In the 1
st inning, Falby scored the first run of the game from third via a throwing error by the Bears' catcher and Gigante extended the lead out to 3-0 with her second home run of the season. The San Diego, Calif. native lifted the 3-1 offering over the center field wall.
The Gators pushed their lead out to 8-0 in the bottom of the 2
nd inning.
Skylar Wallace drove in
Emily Wilkie her 21
st RBI of the year via a groundout to second base for the first run of the frame. With runners on second and third and one out, Echols tallied her first three RBI via her team-leading fifth home run of the season.
Gigante followed suit shortly after in the following at-bat with her second home run of the game over the wall in center field.
After Mercer pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the 3
rd inning to close down the lead to 8-2, Florida surged once more for five more runs which extended the lead out to 13-2. The rally was highlighted by Echols' three-RBI double to center, Gigante's RBI single up the middle and pinch-hitter
Pal Egan's double down the left field line.
The Bears and the Gators closed out the scoring with a run each in the 4
th inning. UF's run came off the bat of Echols who plated Falby on an infield single. Echols ended her night with a career-high seven RBI.
In the circle,
Elizabeth Hightower (8-2) picked up the win with 4 innings pitched before being relieved by
Samantha Bender for the final frame of action in the top of the 5
th inning.
Saturday's schedule for the Bubly Invitational remains the same and the Gators are set to take on Mercer at 11 a.m. (ET) and RV/No. 24 Louisiana at 1:30 p.m. (ET). Both games are set to be streamed via SEC Network+.
Ticketing Information
Tickets for the Gators game against the Ragin' Cajuns originally scheduled for Friday, March 10, will be honored as berm/general admission tickets for Sunday's rescheduled matchup. For questions, please visit the ticket booth at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Updated Bubly Invitational Schedule
| Date |
Time (ET) |
Home |
Away |
Result |
| 3/10 |
10:30 a.m. |
Rutgers |
Mercer |
RU 6, MU 3 |
| 3/10 |
1 p.m. |
Rutgers |
Louisiana |
UL 3, RU 0 |
| 3/10 |
3:30 p.m. |
Florida |
Mercer |
UF 14, MU 3 |
| 3/10 |
Postponed |
Florida |
Louisiana |
Postponed |
| 3/11 |
11 a.m. |
Florida |
Mercer |
|
| 3/11 |
1:30 p.m. |
Florida |
Louisiana |
|
| 3/11 |
4 p.m. |
Mercer |
Rutgers |
|
| 3/11 |
6:30 p.m. |
Louisiana |
Rutgers |
|
| 3/12 |
9:00 a.m. |
Mercer |
Louisiana |
|
| 3/12 |
11:30 a.m. |
Florida |
Louisiana |
|
| 3/12 |
2 p.m. |
Florida |
Rutgers |
|
Notables:
- The Gators run-ruled Mercer in the first game of the day.
- Overall, the Orange & Blue has posted 11 run-rule victories in 2023. In 2022, the program had 13 run-rule victories.
- Florida has outscored opponents 169-43 on the year and average 8.89 runs per game.
- UF has scored 10 or more runs nine times this season and has produced 10 or more hits in a game 11 times.
- Freshman Olivia Gigante went 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of home runs and four RBI.
- It's the first multi-home run game of her career and the four RBI are tied for the most she's produced as a Gator.
- Charla Echols tallied a career-high seven RBI in the game against Mercer as she went 3-for-4 at the plate with a three-run home run and three-run double.
- The seven RBI are tied for third most overall RBI produced in a single-game in program history.
- Florida Single-Game RBI Records
- 9 RBI – Brianna Little – Mercer – Feb. 22, 2015
- 8 RBI – Taylore Fuller – LSU – March 14, 2015
- 7 RBI – Melissa Zick – Illinois – Feb. 24, 2006
- 7 RBI – Megan Bush – Ole Miss – March 19, 2011
- 7 RBI – Bailey Castro – Ole Miss – April 8, 2012
- 7 RBI – Lauren Haeger – South Florida – May 18, 2013
- 7 RBI – Charla Echols – Mercer – March 10, 2023
- Sophomore Kendra Falby was 4-for-4 with four runs scored in the win against Mercer, which is a career-high in hits and runs for the speedster.
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