Haeger leads Gators past Volunteers in opener

FLORIDA 7, TENNESSEE 2

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Pitcher Lauren Haeger outhit Tennessee all by herself.

Florida's do-it-all senior had two hits and allowed just one in a complete-game victory as defending champion Florida defeated Tennessee 7-2 Thursday in the opening game of the Women's College World Series.

Haeger, who homered in the first inning, showed why she was recently named USA Softball's collegiate player of the year.

"To be the national player of the year and jump back on this stage -- she stepped up and hit a home run her first at-bat, pitches a great game, allowed just one hit -- I think she answered that call," Florida Coach Tim Walton said.

Florida lost to Tennessee in the SEC tournament in their only previous meeting this season. This time, the Gators got some unexpected help. Former Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan, now the new Oklahoma City Thunder coach, gave the team a pregame pep talk.

"His volume would just go up, and up, and up, and when he'd look at you, when he made eye contact with you, he'd speak into your soul," Haeger said. "Like, I felt it. I was like, 'OK!'"

Florida (56-6) will play LSU today, after the Tigers defeated Auburn 6-1 on Thursday. Tennessee (47-16) will play Auburn in an elimination game on Saturday.

Haeger, the only player in NCAA history to have more than 60 home runs and 60 victories in a college career, opened the scoring against Tennessee with a home run to left field.

"She's a great hitter," Tennessee starter Rainey Gaffin, who got the loss, said. "Two-strike at-bat, two outs. She tapped a good pitch. I left it up a little too much, and she attacked it. I give her props for that. She was attacking all day."

Kayli Kvistad, a freshman, followed with a two-run shot to center in the third to make it 3-0.

Haeger (29-1) had a no-hitter going until Megan Geer's two-run home run in the fourth trimmed Florida's lead to 3-2.

"If you leave one ball up here at the College World Series, it can get taken out of the yard against good teams like that," she said. "I was just trying to buckle down and get the next girl out."

Florida added two runs in the fourth inning and two more in the sixth.

The Lady Volunteers committed four errors, and just three of Florida's runs were earned.

"A lot of uncharacteristic mistakes by us that Florida definitely took advantage of," Tennessee co-Coach Karen Weekly said.

Haeger said the familiarity with the environment helped.

"A lot of us, this is our third time back here," she said. "For me, I went out there, and it felt a lot different than it had before. I felt so comfortable. Nobody felt nervous, and you can definitely tell by how we played."

LSU 6, AUBURN 1

LSU 6, AUBURN 1

Bianka Bell and Kellsi Kloss hit home runs to help LSU beat Auburn. Bell, a first-team All-American, homered in the top of the first inning. She wasn’t swinging for the fence. “With two outs, I was just trying to get on base, find my way on and just hope someone can score me in,” she said. “I guess I just got all of the ball, and it went out.” LSU scored four runs in the third, highlighted by Kloss’ two-run shot. “I wasn’t trying to do anything too big,” Kloss said. “I was just trying to make an adjustment for my last at-bat and try to get a little more on top of the ball. And I put a good swing on it. And I stayed inside it enough to hit the pole.” Emily Griggs had three hits and Constance Quinn added two for fifth-seeded LSU (51-12). The Tigers will play defending champion Florida today in a winners’ bracket game. Florida opened with a 7-2 victory over Tennessee.

Auburn (54-10) will play Tennessee on Saturday in an elimination game. Auburn had won eight in a row since losing to LSU in its regular-season finale, including three victories to claim the SEC Tournament title. The Tigers had scored at least four runs in all but one of those victories.

Carley Hoover pitched a complete game and threw just 78 pitches for LSU. She allowed six hits and struck out five to improve to 18-5.

“I think the bigger the game, the better she pitches,” LSU Coach Beth Torina said. “From what we know about her this year, she wants the ball in these situations, and she truly thrives in them. So it’s a lot of fun having somebody like her on our team and having somebody you know can perform under pressure. I think that’s the whole key to this is being able to get it done when the lights are on.”

MICHIGAN 5, ALABAMA 0

Lauren Sweet hit a grand slam and Megan Betsa threw a four-hitter to help Michigan beat Alabama.

Betsa struck out six for the third-seeded Wolverines (57-6).

Kelly Christner homered in the bottom of the first inning, and Sweet connected off Alexis Osorio in the fourth. The Wolverines only had four hits, but they left just two on base.

Michigan has won all three meetings with Alabama this season, holding the Crimson Tide (47-14) to a total of three runs.

Jadyn Spencer had two hits for sixth-seeded Alabama in a game that started an hour late because of rain.

Sports on 05/29/2015