FOUR BITS: Softball sets record, lacrosse debuts

1 » No. 3/9 Florida Gators softball (5-1) shutout the Campbell Camels (1-4-1) 7-0 Friday night on the back of a school-record six home runs. Leading their team to victory, junior first baseman Megan Bush had lead-off home runs in back-to-back plate appearances, and junior starter Stephanie Brombacher (4-1) blanked Campbell over five innings while compiling a season-high 11 strikeouts. Six of Florida’s seven runs came on solo homers from five different Gators including Bush (4th, 6th), sophomore outfielder Michelle Moultrie (4th), junior catcher Tiffany DeFelice (6th), freshman C Kelsey Horton (6th) and junior outfielder Kelsey Bruder (7th).

Florida softball (6-1) continued its dominance Friday with a 12-4 win over the Kansas Jayhawks (2-5) in the Gators’ second game of the night. Junior second baseman Aja Paculba went 4-4 with a career-high five RBI. In all, seven UF players accounted for 14 hits and freshman pitcher Erin Schuppert (1-0) earned her first career win in four innings of relief with seven strikeouts while allowing only two runs. Freshman Ensley Gammel started for the Gators.

2 » Florida’s newest sport, women’s lacrosse, is set to debut Saturday against the Jacksonville Dolphins (0-2) at 6 p.m. in the brand new Donald R. Dizney Stadium for the first regular season game in school history. Head coach Amanda O’Leary has done a terrific job preparing the Gators, including recruiting the No. 1–ranked signing class in the nation according to Inside Lacrosse Magazine. The team, which fell 17-8 in its first exhibition match against the U.S. National Development team before rallying to a 7-7 tie at Rutgers and a 10-8 win over Princeton, is made up of two seniors, one junior, two sophomores and 24 freshmen. Admission is free for all home games, so be sure to go out and support this up-and-coming team in its first season!
– Athletic director Jeremy Foley is proud of the school’s newest sport.
– The Florida lacrosse team was years in the making.
– Everything you need to know about how lacrosse is played.

Gators swimming & diving and gymnastics also impressed on Friday…

3 » Swimming and diving continues to shine at the 2010 SEC Championships with the men’s and women’s groups each bringing in two more titles while remaining in second-place Friday. Sophomore Teresa Crippen earned an SEC Championship in the 400-yard individual medley, while junior Conor Dwyer (200-yard freestyle) and senior Shaune Fraser (200-yard IM) both won their second titles of the event and automatically qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships. Senior Gemma Spofforth took home the 100-yard backstroke crown and became only the third female in SEC history to win three straight. The four-day event concludes Saturday as action begins at 10 a.m. and the finals decide the final title winners and NCAA qualifiers at 6 p.m.
– Men: Auburn (557 points), Florida (544), Georgia (401)
– Women: Georgia (555.5 points), Florida (466), Auburn (392)

4 » One-tenth of a point was all that separated No. 4 Gators gymnastics (5-2, 4-1 SEC) from the No. 7 Georgia Gym Dogs (3-4, 2-3 SEC), but it was enough to give Florida a 197.25-197.15 victory Friday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The win marked UF’s first against UGA at home since 1990, and a packed crowd of 6,421 gave the Gators an advantage according to the gymnasts. Florida defeated the five-time defending National Champion Georgia team with their best performance of the season as evidenced by the score. Fans will be able to watch the win in all its glory on Thurs., Feb. 25 at 9 p.m. when it airs tape delayed on ESPNU.