Gator softball team falls in see-saw affair against FSU, 8-7

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) -In a matchup that featured four lead changes in the first five innings, No. 3 Florida State got the last laugh, scoring four runs in the top of the fifth and hanging on to edge No. 16 Florida, 8-7 on Wednesday at KSP Stadium. The Gators (34-17) have now lost their last five to the rival Seminoles (44-8).

FSU survived despite Skylar Wallace’s two-homer game for the Gators, her 17th and 18th home runs of the season. Wallace, who was named a top-10 finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award on Wednesday, went 2-for-3 and was walked twice.

Wallace’s first homer of the night put UF on top, 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth. However, FSU’s game-changing rally in the fifth followed, including a two-run single by pinch hitter Katie Dack and a two-run double by Jahni Kerr. Florida State led, 7-4 midway through the fifth.

Florida’s Sarah Longley cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer. Each team scored a run in the sixth, including Wallace’s second homer, to set the stage for a dramatic seventh inning.

The Gators loaded the bases and brought the team leader in RBI’s, Charla Echols to the plate. Echols, who had already driven in a run on a groundout in the first, popped up to the catcher to end the game.

Florida heads to Kentucky for its final SEC series this weekend at 10-11 in conference play.

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