GATORS SOFTBALL
PALO ALTO, Calif. – The Florida softball team advanced past Loyola Marymount 3-2 in walk-off fashion on Friday in its first game of the Palo Alto Regional hosted by No. 9-seed Stanford, which the Gators will face on Saturday afternoon after the Cardinal’s 1-0 victory over Long Beach State.
The Gators (37-20) rallied in the 7th inning for their sixth walk-off victory of the season to advance into the winner’s bracket.
Down 2-1 going into the final half inning, Sarah Longley tied the game 2-2 with a leadoff smash over the left-field wall. Longley’s seventh homer of the season turned the lineup over back to the top of the order, which allowed Reagan Walsh to produce a one-out single through the left side.
Christina Wellen entered to pinch-run for Walsh and moved to second base after Charla Echols struck a sharply hit ball off the leg of Lions starter Jenna Perez (13-12).
Pal Egan then chopped an RBI single up the middle that scored the game-winning run from second base.
To start the game, Florida and LMU (27-21) were locked into a pitchers’ duel between starters Elizabeth Hightower and Perez for the first four innings.
Hightower limited LMU to just a pair of hits in the first four innings while Perez (13-12) allowed only one through the first three.
Florida scored in the 4th inning for a 1-0 lead after Echols started the frame with a leadoff walk, which was followed up by a pinch-hit bunt single from Sam Roe. After a sacrifice bunt by Emily Wilkie that moved the pair to second and third, the Lions erased Echols from third via a fielder’s choice rundown but Roe and Kaila Pollard moved to second and third.
Kendra Falby drove in Roe with her second single of the game to score the first run. The hit was Falby’s second of the game, which delivered her 21st multi-hit game of the year.
LMU evened the score 1-1 in the top half of the 5th inning as Gabby Villa lifted an offering from Hightower over the left field wall to lead off. The Lions went on to take the lead 2-1 after a fielder’s choice and RBI single to left field by Izzy Jamgotchian. With one out, UF went to the bullpen and brought in Rylee Trlicek (14-5) to limit any further damage as she induced groundouts to first and short.
Trlicek did not allow a runner to reach base in the final 2 2/3 innings of work and struck out four of the eight batters she faced.
