Special report on the Florida Gators softball team:
GAINESVILLE – The No.8-ranked Florida softball team won two more games on the second day of the Bubly Invitational as the team picked up victories over North Dakota State, 1-0, and Longwood, 11-0 (5), at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Gators (9-1) picked up two complete-game shutouts behind the arms of junior right-hander Natalie Lugo and sophomore Elizabeth Hightower. Lugo (4-1) struck out seven of the 24 batters she faced and held the Bison to just two hits and a walk on 84 pitches.
Hightower put up similar numbers in the following game against the Lancers as she struck out eight of the 17 batters faced and limited the opposition to just one hit and a walk on 81 pitches.
Offensively, the top of the Florida lineup produced four of the five hits in the game against North Dakota State. Junior Hannah Adams (2-for-4) provided the walk-off highlights with her RBI single to left field that scored Sophia Reynosofrom second base. Kendyl Lindaman, Charla Echols and Jade Caraway tallied the other three hits in the 1-0 victory.
Caraway started the rally in the 7th inning and was moved into scoring position by a perfectly executed SAC bunt from Hannah Sipos. In the next at-bat, pinch-hitter Jordan Matthews drew an intentional walk, which then prompted Reynoso to reenter the game and the opportunity to score the game-winning run.
In the second game of the day against Longwood, UF’s offense nearly produced its fourth 10 hit performance of the season, but settled for nine in the shortened five-inning game. Adams (2-for-2) once again turned in a multi-hit game, while freshman Baylee Goddard (2-for-3) produced the first of her young career.
Goddard’s second hit, a three-run home run to opposite right field, capped the Gators scoring against Longwood, which gave the team an 11-0 lead. In the end, a total of seven different Gators tallied a hit in the game and nine different players scored a run.
How It Happened – North Dakota – W, 1-0
| Inning | Score | Play |
| B-7th | 1-0 | Adams drove in Reynoso from second base for the walk-off victory when she ripped the 1-1 pitch offered by Vargas to left field. |
How It Happened – Longwood – W, 11-0 (5 Innings)
| Inning | Score | Play |
| B-1st | 1-0 | Cottrill broke open the scoring in the second game with an RBI single through the left side that scored Adams from second. |
| B-1st | 3-0 | Roberts drove in two more Gators on her RBI base hit to center field that scored Echols and Cottrill. |
| B-4th | 4-0 | With the bases loaded and one out, Reynoso pushed across Cottrill after he was hit by the 1-1 pitch thrown from Wood. |
| B-4th | 5-0 | Lindsey followed up in the next at-bat with an RBI single to right field which scored Hoover from third. |
| B-4th | 6-0 | The bases loaded rally continued when Adams notched her fourth hit of the day and drove in Caraway on her RBI single to right field. |
| B-4th | 7-0 | Lindaman produced the third consecutive RBI bases loaded single with her shot to left field on a 2-0 count. |
| B-4th | 8-0 | Echols plated Lindsey from third on a SAC fly to center field. |
| B-4th | 11-0 | Goddard notched her second home run of the season with a three-run shot over the wall in right field. Adams and Matthews crossed home plate to cap the scoring for the day. |
Standout Statistic
- Kendyl Lindaman extended her hit streak out to nine games and the hit streak matches her longest as a Gator, which she achieved Feb. 9-16.
- Her career long hit streak is 10 games which lasted from March 12-April 1, 2017.
- The only game this season she hasn’t picked up a hit in was the season opener against Illinois State.
Notable Notes
- The Gators improved their all-time records against North Dakota State, 5-0, and Longwood, 13-0.
- Charla Echols, Hannah Adams and Kendyl Lindaman have all reached base safely in every game so far this season.
- Jade Caraway has reached base safely in nine out of the 10 games played.
- Florida picked up back-to-back shutouts on the day and now have five through the first 10 games.
- The Gators tallied a trio of multi-hit performances, two from Adams and one from Goddard, and now 17 spread out over nine different players.
- Today’s walk-off victory North Dakota State was the first of the season for the Gators.
- Both Lugo’s and Hightower’s complete-game shutouts were the first of the season and third of their careers.
Next Up
Florida is set to conclude action at the 2020 Bubly Invitational with a pair of games against Southeastern Louisiana and Florida A&M at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. respectively.