No. 5 Florida Pulls Away Late in NCAA Regional Pitchers' Duel to Edge Softball, 3-0

Friday, May 17

Gainesville, FL

2:30 PM

Boston University

37-19

Florida (NCAA Regional)

45-15

Boston University

Florida

Photo by: David Rosenblum

No. 5 Florida Pulls Away Late in NCAA Regional Pitchers' Duel to Edge Softball, 3-0

May 17, 2019 | Softball

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After being held hitless through four innings, No. 5 national-seeded Florida strung together four hits in the fifth to pull away from the Boston University softball team, 3-0, in the opening round of the NCAA regionals Friday afternoon at the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

The two-time defending SEC champion Gators (45-15) earned their third shutout in four games by holding the two-time defending Patriot League champion Terriers (37-19) to four hits. Two-time PL Pitcher of the Year Ali DuBois (23-10) helped BU become the first non-major conference opponent to hold Florida below five hits with the help of four strikeouts, while two-time SEC Pitcher of the Year Kelly Barnhill (31-11) tallied five strikeouts.

Senior Alex Heinen, sophomore Marina Sylvestri, freshman Nicole Amodio and freshman Aliyah Huerta-Leipner all collected one single apiece to lead the offense.

Ali DuBois is fired up after a big strikeout to end the inning! 🔥#NCAASoftball | @TerrierSoftball pic.twitter.com/21lsC8YaSc
— NCAA Softball (@NCAAsoftball) May 17, 2019

HOW IT HAPPENED

Heinen earned the game's first hit with a two out single up the middle before Barnhill ended the threat with her second strikeout of the inning.
The Gators' three-time All-American Amanda Lorenz led off with a walk, but DuBois induced a fly out and pair of ground outs to keep the game scoreless.
DuBois ran intro trouble in the bottom of the second after the umpire crew called her with an illegal pitch on what would have been a fly out.
DuBois walked the batter and hit the next Gator to put two on with zero outs, but the fiery pitcher stood tall with a ground out and back-to-back strikeouts.
Sylvestri earned the game's second hit in the top of the fifth with a one-out single through the left side before Barnhill tallied back-to-back strikeouts of her own.
In the bottom half, DuBois started with a ground out, but the Gators had a single and sac bunt to put a runner in scoring position at the top of the lineup.
Three-time All-American and 2018 SEC Player of the Year Amanda Lorenz drew her second walk of the game to set up a two-out RBI double by Minnesota transfer and 2018 Big 10 Player of the Year Kendyl Lindaman.
The Gators added a two-RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.
Trying to mount a rally, Amodio and Huerta-Leipner led off the sixth with consecutive singles, but Barnhill earned a pair of pop ups and her fifth strikeout to keep BU off the scoreboard.
Freshman Emily Gant entered the circle in the seveth for DuBois to earn three quick outs, and Barnhill accomplished the same feat for the shutout.

GAME NOTES

Lorenz (.418) struck out for just the 16th time this season against DuBois in the bottom of the third
Making their third NCAA regional appearance in four years, the Terriers are now 7-19 all-time in the tournament.
The three runs allowed were the fewest since BU claimed an 8-3 win over American Athletic Conference champion Louisville in 2014.
BU dropped to 0-4 this season against the SEC following an earlier 4-0 loss to then-No. 8 Tennessee and pair of defeats at then-No. 14 Arkansas (4-2, 12-7).
Ranked eighth nationally, Florida improved to 2-1 all-time against BU in the first meeting since the Terriers prevailed, 4-3, in 2000.

NEXT UP: STANFORD

BU will face off against the Cardinal on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. after Stanford fell to Boise State, 9-0, in the first game of Friday's regional.
The winner will face the loser of Florida/Boise State immediately afterwards, while the other team will see its season come to an end.
BU is 1-1 against the Cardinal, last dropping an 8-0 decision in Arizona in 2004.
The games are scheduled for ESPN3.