ORLANDO – And two freshmen led the Florida Gators softball team.
After freshman Brittany Schutte hitting a solo home run in the top of the ninth, fellow freshman Ensley Gammel finished off four innings of one-hit relief to preserve Florida’s 4-3 college softball victory over UCF before a record crowd of 1,091 at the UCF Softball Complex Wednesday evening.
Gammel (5-0) struck out six and walked three after entering the game in the sixth inning in relief of starting pitcher, junior Stephanie Brombacher, who allowed nine hits and three runs while striking out five in five innings. The Gators (24-4) totaled 15 hits off losing pitcher Ashleigh Cole (14-7) of the Knights (22-13). Cole did manage nine strikeouts.
Schutte and sophomore Michelle Moultrie led the Florida attack with 3-for-5 performances, while senior Corrie Brooks went 2-for-5 and hit her third home run in the last two games.
Brombacher retired the first seven batters she faced before giving up UCF’s first hit of the night to Vanessa Perez in the third, which was a slow roller to short. With two down, Abby McClain hit a hard shot up the middle, but Brombacher forced Natalie Land to hit one back at the pitcher to end the inning.
The Knights took the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Natalie Land singled home Perez. But Brooks tied it with one swing of the bat in the top of the sixth, the home run clearing the palm trees behind the fence in left center.
In the bottom of the sixth, Arielle Palafax singled to left and Tiffany Lane doubled to left to put runners on second and third against Brombacher. Marissa Menendez then followed with a triple to right center, scoring both runners and chasing Brombacher. Gammel came in and got the Gators out of the inning without any further damage.
But Florida wasn’t ready for the bus ride home. Moultrie singled to lead off the seventh and moved to second on a wild pitcher. Senior Francesca Enea doubled to center to drive in Moultrie. Gammel ran for Enea and took third on junior Kelsey Bruder’s single to right. Schutte then blooped a one-out single into left to score Gammel, who then had a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts.
Schutte launched her eighth home run of the season on a 3-1 pitch with two outs in the ninth. Gammel struck out the final two Knights she faced to secure the victory, Florida’s second in three extra-inning games and the ninth time the Gators have rallied to win. Florida plays host to No. 12 Louisiana State, which is 8-0 in the SEC, in a three-game series that begins with a Saturday doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.