By BRAD GOLDBACH
What could be a key injury to senior center fielder Kim Waleszonia put a damper on the second day of the Cox Invitational for the No. 2 Florida Gators, who beat Illinois 9-1 and then beat Texas Tech 7-3 Saturday at the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
After laying down a bunt in the first inning against Texas Tech, Waleszonia collided with the first baseman and fell to the ground, clutching her leg in agony. Coach Tim Walton said he did not know how severe the injury might be, but Waleszonia was carried from the field by three coaches.
“Kim’s a big part of our team,” senior right-hander Stacey Nelson said. “We were in shock but we tried to pick it up for Kim.”
Junior Francesca Enea celebrated her 21st birthday and helped pick up the slack with a home run off the scoreboard in center field. The third-inning leadoff blast gave Florida some breathing room after the Red Raiders had closed the gap to 3-2. Enea went 2-for-3 in each victory Saturday, totaling 3 RBI.
“(The home run) definitely changed the momentum because we kind of got down a little,” Enea said. “But we have a great offensive team, and any time someone starts off with a good hit it kind of sparks everyone else. Hits are contagious.”
The home-run fever spread to sophomore Kelsey Bruder, who launched a home run to left field just two pitches later to put Florida comfortably ahead. Bruder had a solid all-around day for the Gators, going 3-for-5 with two sacrifice flies, a triple and 4 RBI on the night.
“I always want to get on base, but any time we are able to score a run from my at-bat, we’re doing a good job,” Bruder said. “I definitely fed off of Fran. It just says how clutch she is when we give up a couple runs and we get it right back. I think it says a lot about our team’s character and I’m feeling really good about that.”
The home runs helped the Gators overcome Stephanie Brombacher’s second shaky performance in as many nights. Brombacher allowed three runs, two of them earned, and seven hits in 4.1 innings against the same Texas Tech team Nelson one-hit for an 11-0 victory earlier in the year.
Nelson replaced Brombacher in relief and didn’t allow a hit the rest of the way to earn her second save of the year. She also threw a complete game five-hitter against Illinois, striking out six and giving up one unearned run.
While the victory over Texas Tech was all about power, the Gators showed their versatility by running all over Illinois with their superior speed. Florida tallied six stolen bases in the game, including two each from seniors Brooke Johnson and Kristina Hilberth.
Florida’s aggressive running also forced Illinois catcher Lana Armstrong into two throwing errors that led to three runs for the Gators, who led 5-0 after three innings.
“I felt we really saw a weakness in their defense,” Walton said. “I had the right personnel up to do some things with it. It looks really bad on the catcher’s part for that to happen, but you can’t blame her. Those kids are fast. She’s throwing the ball and the ball’s actually hitting the runner when she’s sliding. Everything’s a bang-bang play. I thought we did a really good job running the bases today.”
The Gators will conclude play in the Cox Invitational Sunday when they face Illinois at 12:15 p.m. and South Florida at 2:30 p.m.