Florida Drops First Game of the Season to Auburn, 5-4

The No. 1 ranked Florida Gator softball team (26-1, 2-1 SEC) lost their first game of the 2016 campaign Monday night against the No. 3 ranked Auburn Tigers (22-3, 1-2 SEC). The Gators took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh against their SEC counterpart, but blew that lead which snapped their 27-game winning streak dating back to last year.

The two previous games were seesaw battles between these two teams and Game 3 was no different. Auburn jumped to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a two-run home run off the bat of senior Jade Rhodes. The Gators wouldn’t respond until the top of the fourth when sophomore Kayli Kvistad grounded out to second, allowing freshman Amanda Lorenz to score.

Florida would get the lead back in the very next inning with a three-run home run from senior Kirsti Merritt. It was Merritt’s fourth home run on the year and brought her up to 24 runs batted in, ranking third on the team. The Tigers quickly cut the deficit to one run with another home run in the bottom half of the inning, this time from senior Emily Carosone.

With the 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, head coach Tim Walton took junior Delanie Gourley off the circle and put in sophomore Aleshia Ocasio. Ocasio walked the first batter and then it went downhill from there. The leadoff batter reached second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a groundout then scored on a close play at the plate. Carosone reached first on a fielder’s choice as the runner scored. Then, Kasey Cooper singled to left and after a groundout, Carosone and Cooper were on second and third with two outs. Auburn clinched the victory with a close play at first. Senior shortstop Kelsey Stewart threw a low ball to senior first baseman Taylor Schwarz, who dropped the ball while making a tough stretch. The official ruling was a RBI single credited to Rhodes.

The Gators will now set their eyes on the Winthrop Eagles, who they play on Wednesday. First pitch is at 6 p.m. As for this weekend, Florida will be hosting the Tennessee Volunteers in a three-game series.