Kendra Falby Scores 3, Pitchers Shine As Gator Softball Beats Jacksonville 8-0

The Gator softball team is six games into the season with six wins after the Gators beat Jacksonville University 8-0 Wednesday in Gainesville.  The Gators have a nice mix of veteran players and young ones who are contributing early to the Gator success such as Kendra Falby, Lexie Delbrey, and more.

How the game went down

In the 2022 season’s home opener for the number four Gators, the scoring plays were few and far between for the majority of the game.

The first four innings saw freshman Gator pitcher Lexie Delbrey dealing strikeouts to over half of the batters she faced. Through four innings, Delbrey threw 83 pitches to 17 batters, striking out nine. Delbrey’s first inning resulted in three walks and three strikeouts and she did not allow Jacksonville to put the ball in play through the first two innings.

Kendra Falby scores three times with just one hit

Despite only getting one base hit, freshman outfielder Kendra Falby scored three runs in Wednesday night’s game. Falby recorded one base hit, reached on an error and also got hit by a pitch.

Falby’s speed on the bases is what got her in scoring positions. She stole two bases and Falby has now successfully stolen a base in all six games this season. She is 7-of-7 in stealing attempts.

.@kfalby7 is Fast‼️ #GoGators

The speedster is 2-for-2 on stolen base attempts and has stolen a base in all six games played this season. pic.twitter.com/7fqaFaV40u

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) February 17, 2022

One Gator who was effective in bringing her teammates home was redshirt junior Skylar Wallace. Like Falby, Wallace recorded one hit in three at bats. She did, however, have three RBIs, and two of those came home on a double to right field which brought in Avery Goelz from second base and Falby all the way from first base.

Senior outfielder Cheyenne Lindsey also had a good game in the home opener and on her birthday, going 2 for 3.  One hit was an RBI triple that scored Katie Kistler who was pinch-running for Reagan Walsh. In the circle, Elizabeth Hightower relieved Delbey and allowed just one hit in preserving the shutout while notching her first save of the season.

What’s next for the Gators?

Coming up this weekend for the Gators is another tournament, this time hosted in Gainesville. The Gators start the tournament against number 14 Duke. They will also play Villanova, Louisville, and Florida A&M.