Special to GC
Gainesville, Fla. - Led by a nine-RBI day from Lauren Haeger and 16 strikeouts from its pitching staff, the University of Florida softball team won both games of a doubleheader on Saturday at the Aquafina Invitational, defeating Illinois State, 4-1, and Kansas, 7-1. Aleshia Ocasio threw a one-hit complete game against the Redbirds, striking out five and issuing no walks, while Haeger and Delanie Gourley combined to hold Kansas to one run on six hits with three walks and 11 strikeouts. Both offenses were quiet in the first game outside of the fifth inning, when ISU broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run to left-center that marked the first hit of the contest. Florida bounced back in the home half of the inning when Ocasio singled, Justine McLean reached on a fielder's choice and Kelsey Stewart lined a base hit through the right side to set up a three-run home run to left-center from Haeger. The Gators' momentum continued as Bailey Castro followed Haeger with a solo homer of her own down the left-field line to raise the lead to 4-1. Ocasio held the lead with a perfect sixth and seventh innings, sealing the Game 1 win. Florida and Kansas traded zeros through two innings in the second game before the Gators broke through with three runs in the third. Kathlyn Medina singled and Kelsey Stewart drew a walk to set the table for Haeger, who helped her own cause with a three-run home run to right-center. The Orange and Blue extended their lead in the fourth, loading the bases on a single by Kayli Kvistad, a walk by Aubree Munro and another base hit by Medina. Kirsti Merritt then drew a walk to force in a run before Haeger cleared the bases with a double to left-center, increasing Florida's advantage to 7-0. A pair of singles produced a run for Kansas in the fifth, closing the UF lead to six. That was as close as the Jayhawks would get as Haeger and Gourley held the visitors to one hit over the final two innings as the Orange and Blue finished off a 7-1 victory. STARS OF THE GAMES * Lauren Haeger (the hitter): The senior was 3-for-7 at the plate during the doubleheader with a double, two home runs and nine RBI, including six against the Jayhawks. * Lauren Haeger (the pitcher): Facing a Kansas team that came into Saturday hitting .347 and averaging 7.9 runs per game, Haeger limited KU to one run on six hits with nine strikeouts over six innings. * Aleshia Ocasio: The freshman pitched a one-hitter in Florida's first game of the day, walking no one and striking out five. At the plate, the St. Cloud, Fla., native added a base hit. NOTABLES * Ocasio's one-hitter in Game 1 was Florida's second of the season (Haeger, Feb. 8 vs. Jacksonville - 5 innings) and the 18th in program history. * The fifth-inning home runs from Haeger and Castro against Illinois State mark Florida's first back-to-back home runs of the season. * Haeger now leads Florida with five home runs on the season, while Castro has four; the seniors broke a four-way tie with Taylore Fuller and Kirsti Merritt. * Haeger's home runs were the 56th and 57th of her career, pulling within four of Francesca Enea for second place on the Gators' all-time list. (Megan Bush leads with 65 homers.) * The Arizona native has homered in three consecutive games; she accomplished this feat on three separate occasions as a junior. * Haeger had six RBI against Kansas, which is one shy of her career high (7 vs. USF, May 18, 2013). * Through 14 games, the senior is batting .447 with 13 runs scored, 17 hits, five home runs and 22 RBI. * Haeger had at least two strikeouts in seven consecutive innings, from the third frame of Friday's game against Liberty through the fourth on Saturday against Kansas. * No. 17 allowed her first run of the season in the fifth inning against the Jayhawks, snapping her scoreless streak at 32.2 innings. * Florida wore its anthracite jerseys for the first time this year. WALTON'S WORDS On Haeger's start to the season: "She's doing a lot of things well, but I still see it as consistent. She's always done this for us - the home runs are right on pace [with her previous seasons], the RBI are on pace. I really don't think she's doing anything over and above [her normal production]. I think she's always been a consistent go-to for us for three-plus years." On seeing Ocasio meet expectations: "She's probably caught up in the negatives - the ball she hit hard that didn't go out of the ballpark and the home run she gave up - but I think overall, if she can keep us at two runs [allowed] or below per game, I feel really confident we're going to go out and give her a chance to win." On Sunday's doubleheader against Mercer: "I want to see Delanie get out there and pitch well like she pitched today in the seventh inning [against Kansas]. We're so fortunate to have the talent and the depth that we have. It's nice to see somebody like Kayli Kvistad swing the bat and get things started for us. It all starts with our pitching and defense. If we pitch and play defense, we've got a chance to win a lot of games." - Florida Head Coach Tim Walton FLORIDA PLAYER QUOTES Senior Pitcher/First Base Lauren Haeger On her big day at the plate: "Hitting-wise, [it was] really good. [I had] a lot of RBI, and that's really what I care about. Whether I hit a home run, or a double in the gap or just hitting with runners in scoring position, that's usually my main goal. I felt really good about today." On Ocasio: "Aleshia pitched great. She's a freshman and she's coming out here and pitching one-hit [complete games]. It really pumps us all up to know she's here to work. She had some great swings too. That's great to see since she hasn't been hitting a lot when she's pitching. She did a great job and set the tone for us to come out here and get two wins." Freshman Utility Player Aleshia Ocasio On Haeger: "I thought Lauren did great. She killed the ball. She was doing great and she had a lot of strikeouts. She had a lot of first-pitch strikes, and that really helped us as a team." On responding in the circle after giving up a home run: "I just had to stay positive [and] keep my energy up because I'm playing for my team and I have to come back with some strikeouts and outs. Going to the other side of the field, I know my team can get some runs, so I just have to keep them to a minimum and bounce back." UP NEXT The Aquafina Invitational concludes Sunday, when Florida will play a doubleheader against Mercer beginning at noon Eastern. WGGG (1230-AM)<http://www.floridasportstalk.fm/> will have the radio broadcast with Corey Brooks (play-by-play) and Megan Bush (analysis) on the call. In addition, live stats links can be found on the schedule page<http://www.gatorzone.com/schedule.php?sport=softb> on GatorZone.com.