Barnhill starts SEC play with a no-hitter against Kentucky

By
Andrew Spivey
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Special report on the Florida Gators softball team:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kelly Barnhill hurled her third complete-game no-hitter of the season in a 6-0 victory over No. 23 Kentucky Friday evening at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

Barnhill (10-0) now has three complete-game no-hitters, a combined no-hitter and a perfect game through 12 starts.

Florida’s (20-1) patience at the plate showed in the first inning as the team drew four walks against Kentucky (15-4) starter Erin Rethlake (4-3).

Jordan Matthews drew the fourth walk to give UF a 1-0 lead and prompted the replacement of Rethlake with Autumn Humes in the circle. Janell Wheatonimmediately extended the lead to 2-0 after she sent an 0-1 pitch through the right side of the Kentucky defense.

Later in the same inning, Jordan Roberts extended the lead out to 4-0 with her single through the left side of the Kentucky infield. The Gators pushed the lead out to 6-0 after Kentucky third baseman Abby Cheek’s errant throw resulted in a collision at first between Alex Voss and Mallory Peyton.

Florida was poised to score again in the fifth after a trio of singles by Nicole DeWitt, Kayli Kvistad and Matthews. Kentucky was able to escape the inning after Wheaton flied out to shallow center field and Roberts was retired on strikes.

The Gators and the Wildcats will square off again Saturday at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network.

Notable Notes:

  • Florida scored four runs in the first inning against Kentucky.
    • It’s the 15th time this season that the Gators have scored in the first inning.
    • UF has now scored four or more runs in an inning 19 times out of 21 games played.
  • Amanda Lorenz extended her reached base safely streak to 21 games.
    • Lorenz reached in all but two games for the Gators last season (66-of-68).
  • Kelly Barnhill struck out the Kentucky side in the 3rd and 7th inning.
    • It’s the 14th & 15th time this season that Barnhill has struck out the side.
  • Barnhill tallied 13 strikeouts in the game against the Wildcats.
    • It’s a season-high for the Wildcats. They entered with a previous high of five at Ohio (Mar. 3).
    • Tonight was the fifth time this season Barnhill tallied 10 or more strikeouts in a game.
  • Hannah Adams scored the first run of the game after reaching on a four-pitch walk.
    • Adams has now scored for the Gators in the last 11-straight games.
Andrew Spivey
Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.