Lawson's grand slam sparks Gators past Dayton, 11-1

Teammates mob Brendan Lawson at home after third inning grand slam (UAA Photo)

Moved up to No. 5 in the batting order, freshman Brendan Lawson made Kevin O’Sullivan’s confidence pay off in a big way Saturday afternoon as a crowd of 8,155 watched the 10th-ranked Gators (6-0) pound Dayton (2-4), 11-1, a run-rule win halted in the bottom of the eighth.

The Gators were ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the third when they loaded the bases on walks to Blake Cyr and Bobby Boser and an error that put Colby Shelton on first. On a 1-0 count, Lawson hit his first collegiate home run over the wall in right field to clear the bases. In the bottom of the eighth, Lawson picked up his fifth RBI with a sacrifice fly.

"He's got a slow heart rate,” O’Sullivan said of his first baseman. “Doesn't seem to ever get too excited. The game doesn't speed up on him. His zone control is exceptional, especially for a young hitter. He doesn't chase out of the zone very much. We put him in the fifth spot tonight for a reason. He's been swinging the bat really good. A lot of his outs have been hard hit. He's an advanced hitter and I think I've said that even before the season started. He's been doing that against our own pitchers as well."

The Gators parlayed nine hits, six walks, three hit batters and two Dayton errors into their fifth consecutive game scoring 10 or more runs. The Gators were error-free in the field and three UF pitchers gave up only four hits while walking two batters, hitting two and striking out 13. Florida pitchers have 83 strikeouts in six games.

Jake Clemente (2-0) got the win. He went the first four innings, allowing two hits while walking two, hitting two and striking out seven. Clemente threw 74 pitches, 42 for strikes. Lefty Frank Menendez went the next three, allowing one hit while striking out five. He threw a very efficient 31 pitches to the 10 batters he faced. Freshman Matthew Jenkins went the eighth, giving up a hit while striking out one.

O’Sullivan didn’t think Clemente was as sharp as he needed to be.

“Two starts in a row, four innings,” O’Sullivan said. “That was one of those main things we talked about when the season started. We need to get some more quality starts than we had last year. You don't want to go to your pen in the fifth. He just seemed a little off tonight. I don't know if it's mechanics or something. We’ll have to watch the video.”

The Gators jumped on Dayton starter Peyton Malecha for a first inning run. Cyr led the game off with a double, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on Bobby Boser’s sacrifice fly to right field.

The Gators knocked Malecha out of the box in the fifth. The Gators tagged reliever Jackson Judy for two in the sixth when Ty Evans doubled, Cyr was hit by a pitch and Shelton hit a 2-out opposite field double down the left field line to put UF up 7-0.

It was 7-1 in the bottom of the eighth when the Gators scored four to close things out on the run-rule. Hayden Yost doubled, Cyr was hit by a pitch and Shelton hit an RBI double to center field. After a walk to Brody Donay, Lawson drove home a run with a sacrifice fly. The final two runs came on a 2-run single by Landon Stripling.

The Gators will go for the series sweep this afternoon with lefty Pierce Coppola taking the mound.

UF SOFTBALL: GATORS WIN TWO, IMPROVE TO 17-1

The 3rd-ranked Gators improved their record to 17-1 Saturday with a pair of wins at the Sun Devil Classic in Arizona. The Gators trounced New Mexico State, 12-1, in game one and then held on for a 6-4 win over Grand Canyon in game two.

Freshman Katelynn “Red” Oxley made her collegiate pitching debut against New Mexico State, going four innings while giving up two hits and striking out three. The Gators backed her up by scoring in all four innings they got to hit, starting with two in the first.

Kendra Falby singled, Taylor Shumaker was hit by a pitch and after a double steal, Korbe Otis walked to load the bases. Jocelyn Erickson gave the Gators the only runs they needed with a 2-RBI single.

Shumaker hit a sacrifice fly in the second to score Brook Barnard. In the third, Erickson hit a solo homer and Kenleigh Cahalan hit a 2-run homer, scoring Mia Williams, who had doubled.

Florida erupted for six in the bottom of the fourth. One out after a Shumaker triple, Erickson hit her second home run of the game over the wall in right field. Walks to Cassidy McClellan and Ava Brown and a single by Mackenna Bellaire loaded the bases for Gaby Cormia, whose infield single drove in a run. Falby walked in a run, Bellaire scored on a wild pitch and Shumaker hit an RBI single.

The Gators were cruising with a 6-0 lead in game two against Grand Canyon when things got out of hand for starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock. Rothrock gave up a 3-run homer and a run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth. Ava Brown came on to pitch the sixth and seventh innings, allowing one hit while striking out two.

Florida scored five runs in the third when Cahalan hit her second home run of the day, over the right field wall. A single by Falby, walks to Shumaker and Erickson and an error on a grounder by Williams gave the Gators a 1-0 lead. Cahalan followed with her fourth homer of the season.

The Gators added an insurance run in the top of the fifth when Otis led off with her fourth home run of the season over the left field wall.

The Gators conclude their trip to Arizona today when they face Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference at 11 a.m.