STARKVILLE, Miss. — With one eye focused on the ominous skies, Florida’s softball team had to make short work of Mississippi State Saturday — twice.
The Gators did, defeating the Bulldogs 8-0 in five innings after a rain delay of 44 minutes in the second inning of the first game. Then in the evening game that was delayed until 8, the Gators did it again, beating Mississippi State 9-1 in five innings.
Florida (37-7, 17-4 SEC East) and Mississippi State (26-26, 7-17 SEC West) conclude their three-game series today at 1 p.m.
In the opener, junior right-hander Stephanie Brombacher earned her 25th victory in 30 decisions with her seventh shutout of the season, a 3-hitter that included three strikeouts and just two walks. In the nightcap, it was freshman right-hander Ensley Gammel who shut the door on the Bulldogs, improving to 11-2 while allowing two hits and three walks while striking out nine.
In the first game, freshman Brittany Schutte hit her 13th home run of the season, tying Florida’s freshman record set by current junior Megan Bush in 2008. Schutte and Francesca Enea each had two hits to lead Florida’s 10-hit attack against losing pitcher Misty Flesher (12-9).
Florida took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with two outs. Enea walked and took third on Schutte’s single. She then scored on Megan Bush’s double to center.
It became 3-0 in the second inning. Tiffany DeFelice started with a walk and Corrie Brooks singled and a wild throw by Flesher allowed DeFelice to score and Brooks to take third. Brittany Walker then hit a sacrifice fly to score Brooks.
The Gators added three runs in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Brooks was hit by a pitch. Walker then singled Brooks to second base from where she scored (and Walker took third) when Michelle Moultrie doubled. Enea followed one out later with a two-run single for a 6-0 lead.
Schutte led off the fifth inning with a home run to left field. Bush then walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Lauren Heil, who came around to score on Kelsey Bruder’s double to left center to make it 8-0.
In the second game, Aja Paculba drove in three runs with a pair of hits, one her eighth home run of the season, and Bush drove in two runs with the help of her 13th home run of the season.
Florida took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first off losing pitcher Lindsey Dunlap (6-6). Leadoff batter Michelle Moultrie doubled to right, Paculba walked and Enea was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Schutte hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Moultrie, and Bush hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Paculba.
The Bulldogs got one of the runs back in the bottom of the second when Gammel was a little wild. She hit two batters, threw two wild pitches and walked another batter before a groundout got the run across.
But her teammates responded with a pair of runs for a 4-1 lead. Bush homered to left center with one out. Then Kelsey Bruder doubled, went to third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch. Paculba’s solo homer in the fourth inning made it 5-1.
Florida then iced the game with four runs in the top of the fifth. The big hit was Paculba’s two-run triple with two outs.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
Eastern Division Conference Overall
(Rank) Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
(T5) Florida17-4 .810 37-7 .841
(T7) Georgia 18-8 .692 41-10.804
(17) Tennessee 15-7 .682 39-11 .780
Kentucky 11-14.440 29-23 .558
South Carolina 1-24 .040 11-37 .229
Western Division Conference Overall
(Rank) Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
(4) Alabama 20-4 .833 42-9 .824
(16) Louisiana State19-6 .760 41-11 .788
Arkansas 10-14.417 28-24 .538
Auburn 8-17 .320 27-23 .540
Mississippi State 7-17 .292 26-26 .500
Mississippi 6-17 .261 25-25 .500
(Rank) in this week’s GatorCountry.com Top 25 poll
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY / April 30
Louisiana State 5, Georgia (1st)
Georgia 3, Louisiana State 2 (2nd)
Michigan 5, Kentucky 4
SATURDAY / May 1
Florida 8, Mississippi State 0 (5) (1st)
Florida 9, Mississippi State 1 (5) (2nd)
Arkansas 5, Mississippi 0 (1st)
Arkansas 9, Mississippi 0 (2nd)
Alabama 4, Tennessee 2 (1st)
Alabama 7, Tennessee 6 (2nd)
Michigan 8, Kentucky 4
SUNDAY / May 2
Florida at Mississippi State, 1 p.m.
Mississippi at Arkansas, 3 p.m.
Tennessee at Alabama, 4 p.m.
WEDNESDAY / May 5
North Florida at Florida (2), 4 p.m.
SATURDAY / May 8
South Carolina at Florida (2), 1 p.m.
Louisiana State at Tennessee (2), 12 p.m.
Kentucky at Mississippi (2), 2 p.m.
Arkansas at Auburn (2), 2 p.m.
Alabama at Mississippi State (2), 2 p.m.
SUNDAY / May 9
South Carolina at Florida, 12 p.m.
Louisiana State at Tennessee, 2 p.m.
Kentucky at Mississippi, 2 p.m.
Arkansas at Auburn, 2 p.m.
Alabama at Mississippi State, 2 p.m.
Georgia at Texas, 1 p.m.
MONDAY / May 10
Georgia at Texas, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY-SATURDAY / May 13-15
SEC Tournament at Fayetteville, Ark.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY / May 20-23
NCAA Regionals (16 sites)
FRIDAY-SUNDAY / May 28-30
NCAA Super Regionals (8 sites)
THURSDAY-WEDNESDAY / June 3-9
Women’s College World Series, Oklahoma City, Okla.
RANKINGS
April 27, 2010
GATORCOUNTRY.Com TOP 25
The GatorCountry.com Top 25 college softball teams for April 27, a cumulative ranking using the ESPN.com/USA Softball Division I and USA/NFCA Division I polls. First-place votes are in parentheses:
Rk School W-L Pts
1. Washington (2) 37-5 50
2. Michigan 37-5 48
3. Arizona 38-7 46
4. Alabama 39-9 44
5. UCLA 33-9 41
5. Florida 35-7 41
7. Arizona State 37-10 36
7. Georgia 40-8 36
7. Georgia Tech 43-8 36
10. Oklahoma State 40-11 30
10. Oklahoma 36-10 30
12. Missouri 36-9 27
13. Texas 37-10 25
14. Stanford 30-12 24
15. California 34-13 23
16. Louisiana State 38-10 22
17. Tennessee 39-9 19
18. Illinois 33-5 15
19. Oregon 31-10 14
20. Ohio State 30-11 9
20. Hawaii 39-11 9
20. Texas A&M 36-13 9
23. Massachusetts 29-7-1 8
24. Florida State 39-14 6
25. Notre Dame 38-9 2
USA TODAY/NATIONAL FASTPITCH COACHES ASSOCIATION
1. Washington (37-5); 2. Michigan (37-5); 3. Arizona (38-7); 4. Alabama (39-9); 5. UCLA (33-9); 6. Florida (35-7); 7. Arizona State (37-10); 8. Georgia (40-8); 9. Georgia Tech (43-8); 10. Missouri (36-9); 11. Oklahoma State (41-10); 12. Oklahoma (36-10); 13. California (34-13); 14. Stanford (30-12); 15. Texas (37-10); 16. Tennessee (39-9); 17. Louisiana State (39-10); 18. Illinois (33-5); 19. Ohio State (30-11); 20. Oregon (31-10); 21. Massachusetts (29-7); 22. Texas A&M (36-13); 23. Hawaii (39-11); 24. Florida State (39-14); 25. Notre Dame (38-9).
ESPN.com/USA SOFTBALL DIVISION I
1. Washington (37-5); 2. Michigan (37-5); 3. Arizona (38-7); 4. Alabama (39-9); 5. Florida (35-7); 6. UCLA (33-9); 7. Georgia Tech (43-8); 8. Georgia (40-8); 9. Arizona State (37-10); 10. Oklahoma (36-10); 11. Oklahoma State (40-11); 12. Texas (37-10); 13. Louisiana State (38-10); 14. Stanford (30-12); 15. Missouri (36-9); 16. California (34-13); 17. Tennessee (39-9); 18. Oregon (31-10); 19. Illinois (33-5); 20. Hawaii (39-11); 21. Texas A&M (36-13); 22. Florida State (39-14); 23. Massachusetts (29-7-1); 24. Ohio State (30-11); 25. Notre Dame (38-9).