UF softball rides power surge past FAU at Gainesville Regional

GAINESVILLE — Florida catcher Jocelyn Erickson just wanted to get on base, do her part and help the Gators after a listless, hitless day at the plate.

Instead, Erickson ended Saturday’s NCAA Regional matchup against FAU with her first grand slam since she was a high school freshman in Phoenix to leave UF one win away from hosting a Super Regional next weekend.

“I was just trying to do whatever I could do for my team; I was not going down without a fight,” Erickson said. “I wasn’t saying, ‘I’m gonna hit a grand slam.’ I was just trying to get a good hit.”

Erickson’s bases-clearing blast to right center highlighted a power surge by the Gators (45-14) during a 14-6 mercy-rule decision.

Winner of seven straight, FAU (45-11) trailed 7-6 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. But a combination of shaky pitching and UF’s stacked lineup sank the Owls and allowed the Gators to find some shade and get some rest until returning to the field at 1 p.m. Sunday at Katie Seashole Softball Stadium.

Florida will play the winner between FAU and the survivor of the Mercer-Georgia Tech matchup that followed the Gators’ victory.

“This is an important win to get out of here early,” coach Tim Walton said. “We’ll wait for the teams to battle it out to go tomorrow.”

Whoever reaches Sunday will face one of the game’s most potent and efficient lineups.

The Gators finished with just six hits but four were home runs — two by freshman slugger Taylor Shumaker.

“Something that makes this team so special is our lineup is very dangerous,” Shumaker said. “You get one batter on base, and all of a sudden the game can be broken open within one pitch.”

Shumaker’s big day continued her assault on the school’s record book.

With UF trailing 2-0 after a shaky opening inning, the Fullerton, Calif., native drove the first pitch she saw over the fence in left center to score leadoff hitter Kendra Falby and give Shumaker 20 home runs to break Brittany Schutte’s freshman record set in 2010.

Shumaker’s second homer followed a FAU pitching change in the bottom of the fourth inning to Gabby Sacco, a senior from Orlando who played at Lake Brantley. Shumaker’s 3-run shot easily cleared the right center field wall and knocked down a sizable chunk of Spanish moss hanging from a live oak to give the Gators a 7-3 lead.

“She has power in all directions — pole to pole,” Walton marveled. “The ball fight off the bat is the best I’ve ever seen.”

Owls catcher and clean-up hitter Chloe Yeatts answered Shumaker with her own 3-run shot.

“They punched. We punched back,” Walton said. “It was a good game.”

The Gators ultimately wore out the Owls, forcing FAU to use three pitchers.

Ainsley Lambert relieved Sacco in the bottom of the fifth inning after she’d allowed three runs and recorded just a single out. Lambert promptly walked three Gators, giving them eight bases-on-balls Saturday, and allowed five runs — four of them when Erickson connected on the game’s final pitch.

“That’s our MO,” Walton said. “You have to throw the ball over the plate. We’re not going to chase.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com