Florida Gators softball wins Aquafinal Invitational

Special report on the Florida Gators softball team:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida softball team capped off the Aquafina Invitational with a 5-0 victory over FIU Sunday, Feb. 19 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

The Gators (10-1) jumped out in front early in the contest thanks to freshman Jaimie Hoover’s second career grand slam in the top of the first inning. Hoover’s hit was set up with back-to-back-to-back walks with two outs from Nicole DeWitt, Kayli Kvistad and Aleshia Ocasio.

Kvisitad (2-for-3) drove in the only other run in the contest in the top of the seventh inning with a double off the top of the left center wall pads to score Justine McLean. Mclean ended the game going 1-for-4 at the plate with a pair of steals, which makes her a perfect 7-for-7 on the season.

Sophomore Kelly Barnhill (4-0) commanded the circle again for the Gators as she extended her scoreless inning streak to 24.0. Barnhill tossed a 5.2 innings with 12 strikeouts while she scattered a trio of hits and four walks.

 

COACHES CORNER

On playing 11 games in the last 10 days…

“I think it was good for us to get out there and get a lot of looks. The hardest thing to do is just prepare for all the different looks you are going to get pitching wise and to be able to turn the page pretty quickly. That’s probably the toughest part of the preparation but I think in those 10 days we’ve gotten a lot of different looks.

We got the chance to see what we can and what we can’t do, what we’re good at or not as good at and what we need to improve on. And then also there’s some situational things in the games that are good for our players to be put into, so we can figure out what kind of decision making processes they have. Overall there were a lot of positives to take away from having played this many games.”

 

SCORING

  • Freshman Jaimie Hoover hit her second-career grand slam to score DeWitt, Kvistad & Ocasio.

o   All three base runners reached via a walk with two outs.

  • Junior Kayli Kvistad RBI double off the top of the wall padding in left center scored Justine McLean.

NOTABLES

  • Jaimie Hoover hit her second-career grand slam to give Florida a 4-0 lead.

o   Her first grand slam occurred on Feb. 12, against Delaware.

  • McLean had another multiple stolen bases game with two today against the Panthers.

o   She is now a perfect 7-for-7 on the season.

  • Kvistad and Sophia Reynoso both had above .500 batting averages for the Aquafina Invitational.

o   Kvistad finished with nine hits in 16 at-bats and four walks to go along with six RBIs and four runs scored. She also hit her first home run of the season to go with a pair of doubles.

o   Reynoso tallied six hits in 12 at-bats with 6 RBIs, two doubles, a triple and a pair of runs scored.

  • Kelly Barnhill increased her scoreless inning streak to 24.0 innings pitched.

o   The last run conceded by Barnhill occurred in the third inning of play against Michigan on Feb. 11, 2017 at the USF Wilson-Demarini Tournament.

  • The Gators defense was errorless on the weekend with 99 putouts and 22 assists.

NEXT UP

The Gators will have a short break with no midweek games scheduled before their trip to Orlando, Fla. where the team will take part in the Citrus Classic. The first pair of games are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 24 at 1:15 p.m. against Syracuse and will be followed by a 3:30 p.m. matchup against Fordham.

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.