No. 5 Florida picks up softball win at Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE — No. 5 Florida walked away with a 5-1 win over Jacksonville on Wednesday at the Debbie and Fred Pruitt Softball Complex, as Hannah Adams went 3-for-3 and blasted her fifth home run of the season.
The Gators (25-3) drew a season-high 10 walks in the midweek contest against the Dolphins (17-10) and also picked up a solid pitching performance from starter Natalie Lugo (7-1). Lugo hurled 6.0 innings and only allowed four hits, three walks, one unearned run and struck out five.
Florida walked its way on to the scoreboard in the first inning and took an initial 1-0 lead via five walks issued by Dolphins starting pitcher Skylar Whitty (7-4). Adams, Kendyl Lindaman, Julia Cottrill, Emily Wilkie and Jaimie Hoover all drew walks. Hoover's patience allowed Adams to score.
UF made it 2-0 in similar fashion, but picked up a pair of key hits from Cheyenne Lindsey and Adams in the process. Sarah Longley led off with a walk, which was then followed by a single through the right side of the Dolphins infield by Lindsey.
Adams extended her career-long hit streak to 13 games when she ripped a shot back to the circle and off of Whitty to load the bases. Whitty then issued her seventh walk of the afternoon to Lindaman, which pushed across Longley to score the second run of the afternoon for the Gators.
The Gators picked back up in the fourth inning for a 3-0 lead. Adams registered her second hit of the game to leadoff the frame, while Lindaman moved her into scoring position with her third walk of the game. Charla Echols advanced Adams to third on a deep fly to right field and Cottrill drove her home with an RBI single.
The Gators extended the lead to 5-0 in the fifth thanks to a two-run home run by Adams to left field. Lindsey kept the inning alive for Adams' two-run two-out opposite field shot with a single of her own to center field.
Next up for the Gators is a Top 25 series in Athens, Ga., against No. 20 Georgia starting Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 3 p.m. and Monday at 7 p.m.