PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Florida’s No. 2-ranked softball team pulled out the big bats at “Fenway Park West” – the Big League Dream Sports Park – on the opening day of the Cathedral City Classic.
Junior Francesca Enea and sophomore Megan Bush, playing in their home state, belted home runs to support the three-hit pitching of sophomore right-hander Stephanie Brombacher as the Gators beat No. 14 Fresno State, 8-0, in five innings Thursday afternoon.
Then in the nightcap, Bush, a sophomore shortstop from Anaheim Hills, Calif., homered twice in the fifth inning as Florida scored eight times on its way to an 8-2 victory over No. 3 Arizona State, the defending NCAA champion.
The victories were the first ones over ranked teams this season for coach Tim Walton’s Gators, who improved to 10-1. Today, Florida plays No. 17 Nevada at 4 p.m. ET and No. 7 Washington at 8:30 ET. The Gators then finish off with UNLV Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
With Florida trailing 1-0 against Arizona State, Bush led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo homer to left off starter and losing pitcher Megan Elliott. Ali Gardiner then had a run-scoring single to give Florida a lead it would never surrender. Later in the inning, Corrie Brooks had a two-run double for a 4-1 lead.
After the Gators got the bases loaded, Megan Ellsworth replaced Elliott to face Bush. The Florida sophomore jumped on the first pitch and drove it out in center field for an 8-1 Florida lead. It was Florida’s fifth grand slam homer of the season and it gave Bush a 5-RBI game. Brooks also had two hits to go along with her 2 RBI.
The victory went to Stacey Nelson, who improved to 5-1, allowing two earned runs on five hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.
In the earlier game, Brombacher recorded her fifth shutout to improve to 5-0 on the season and 25-0 in her career. She scattered the three hits and one walk with two strikeouts. Morgan Melloh suffered the loss for Fresno State, allowing eight runs, seven walks and five hits while striking out eight.
Florida took a 1-0 lead when another Californian, sophomore Aja Paculba, led off the game with a walk. Two outs later, Enea stepped to the plate and sent a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left center for her team-leading fifth home run and 22nd and 23rd runs batted in.
Brombacher started slowly, allowing the first Fresno State hitters on with singles but then got a fly out, a strikeout and a ground out to end the Bulldogs’ threat.
Florida went up 3-0 in the second inning when Kim Waleszonia knocked home Kristine Priebe, who had been hit by a pitch and sacrificed to second by Bush.
Brombacher then retired eight straight before Haley Gilleland had a two-out single in the fourth. But Brombacher induced a fly out to keep Florida ahead 3-0.
The Gators put the game away with five runs in the fifth inning, all the runs coming with two out. Junior Corrie Brooks doubled to center, plating two, and Bush hit a 3-run home run off the Green Monster replica to finish off the five-run inning.