Haeger shut downs the Bulldogs

Special to GC

Starkville, Miss. – The third-ranked University of Florida softball team defeated Mississippi State, 3-2, in the opener of the teams’ three-game Southeastern Conference series on Friday at the MSU Softball Field. The Gators overcame a 2-1 first-inning deficit with two runs in the third, and senior right-hander Lauren Haeger struck out 11 batters while yielding four hits and two walks in a complete-game effort.

Kirsti Merritt gave Florida (31-3, 4-3 SEC) an early lead with a solo home run off the left-field scoreboard in the top of the first. Mississippi State (24-9, 4-6 SEC) answered with a two-run double in the home half to go in front 2-1.

The Gators then loaded the bases in the third on singles by Justine McLean and Kelsey Stewart and a walk to Haeger. McLean scored to tie the game when Kayli Kvistad reached on a fielder’s choice, and Bailey Castro put Florida back in front with an RBI double down the left-field line that plated Stewart.

The one-run lead was enough for Haeger, who no-hit the Bulldogs for the final four innings to remain perfect with 14 wins on the season.

STARS OF THE GAME

  • Bailey Castro: The senior’s run-scoring double with two outs in the third marked her team-leading seventh game-winning RBI of the season.
  • Kirsti Merritt: The Lake Panasoffkee, Fla., native launched a first-inning home run to open to scoring for the Gators.
  • Lauren Haeger: The Arizona native bounced back after allowing a two-run double in the first to keep MSU off the scoreboard the rest of the night, and also knocked a one-out single in the seventh inning.

NOTABLES

  • Florida earned its fifth come-from-behind win of the year.
  • Haeger tied her career high by striking out 11 batters for the fifth time (last: Feb. 9, 2014, vs. Wisconsin – no-hitter).
  • Merritt’s first-inning home run was her eighth of the season, which is the second-highest total for the Gators (Fuller, Haeger – 9 each).
  • The junior has four home runs in 14 games dating back to Feb. 28 after a 15-game drought.
  • Merritt’s blast was Florida’s first home run as a team since the center fielder’s two-run shot against LSU on March 15, snapping a three-game homerless run.
  • Castro’s go-ahead double in the third was her third two-base hit of the season and her first since Feb. 7 vs. Illinois State during the third game of the year.
  • The Pembroke, Pines, Fla., native has three of UF’s last four game-winning RBI dating back to March 6.
  • Haeger had 11 strikeouts during the game, cracking the century mark on the season to bring her 2015 total to 104.
  • In recognition of Athletic Trainer Appreciation Day, Katie Davis (Florida) and Kayleigh Zavadil (Mississippi State) threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

WALTON’S WORDS
On Haeger’s work in the circle:
“I thought that overall, if you go back and look at the whole complexion of her performance, I thought she really did a good job changing speeds. [She] got ahead in the count. Even [when she was] behind in the count, she didn’t give in and still located her pitches. I counted probably three mistakes, maybe four at the most. When you can do that against a good hitting team like Mississippi State, it says a lot about her command today.”

On Florida’s offense that saw three different players drive in runs:
“Overall, we are all feeling the same way. We’re not swinging the bat as well. We’re taking good pitches, we’re swinging at bad pitches and kind of getting ourselves out a little bit. I don’t think we’re quite at our peak performance, confidence-wise. We’re still winning ballgames. That’s a tribute to our hitters and our team picking each other up. Everybody in our lineup, it seems like to me that when they have a bad day, somebody else will pick them up. It’s nice to see – Kirsti and Bailey had nice days today, Kayli got an RBI, and Lauren – we had some good at-bats.”

On what the Gators need to do to win the series on Saturday:
“We’ve got to continue to pitch well and play good defense. That keeps us in the game. I’d like to see our offense spray the ball around the whole field tomorrow. That’s the key – being able to try to manufacture runs early and give our pitchers a lead.”
— Florida Head Coach Tim Walton

UP NEXT
The UF-MSU series continues Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Live streaming will be available to subscribers on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN. WGGG (1230-AM) will have the radio broadcast with Corey Brooks and former Gator All-American Megan Bush on the call. In addition, live stats links can be found on the schedule page on GatorZone.com.

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.