GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three home runs by third-ranked Florida led the Gators past eighth-ranked LSU, 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
With the loss, the Tigers fall to 29-7 on the year and 8-3 in Southeastern Conference play. The win moves the Gators to 40-2 overall and 12-1 in league action, moving into first place in the conference standings. LSU now drops to third overall and second in the SEC Western Division.
Dani Hofer started and took the loss to fall to 16-4 on the year. She allowed three runs on two hits with a walk in a third of an inning. Cody Trahan came on in relief and gave up four runs on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts in four and a third. Tiffany Garcia gave up only one hit over the final inning and a third.
Florida got on the board in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Aja Paculba drew a walk and then stole second. Paculba scored on a single to center field by Ali Gardiner as Gardiner advanced to second. A home run by Francesca Enea put the Gators ahead, 3-0.
LSU brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the second and the third, but couldn’t push the run across. Killian Roessner led off the second with a walk. A single by Quinlan Duhon moved Roessner to second to bring the tying run to the plate, but the Tigers couldn’t get the timely hit. A pair of Florida errors in the third put Dee Dee Henderson and Jazz Jackson on base, but once again, the timely hit eluded LSU as the Tigers failed to score.
In the bottom of the third, Florida extended its lead to 5-0. Paculba led off with a bloop double to right field. A walk to Gardiner put runners on first and second. With two outs, Mary Ratliff doubled to right center, scoring both Paculba and Gardiner. The Gators tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on a pair of solo home runs, one each by Gardiner and Ratliff.
Over the final four innings, LSU scattered a pair of hits, but could not push a run across the plate. For the game, the Tigers stranded six, including four in scoring position. As with the rest of the weekend, LSU could not come up with the timely hit when it needed it, stranding a total of 22 on base runners in the three games.
Next week, the Tigers will host a mid-week game against McNeese State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. LSU will then return to the road for a three-game conference series at No. 2-ranked Alabama. The series beings with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
LSU 000 000 0 – 0 3 1
Florida 302 020 x – 7 10 2
Dani Hofer, Cody Trahan (1), Tiffany Garcia (5) and Killian Roessner. Stacey Nelson and Kristina Hilberth. WP ? Nelson (25-2). LP ? Hofer (16-4). S ? None. HR ? Francesca Enea, Ali Gardiner, Mary Ratliff. T ? 1:52. A ? 726.