Delanie Gourley became the fourth Gator in program history to throw a perfect game.
FULLERTON, Calif. – Senior Delanie Gourley stole the show in the opening game of the Judi Garman Classic at the Anderson Family Field on the campus of Cal State Fullerton Thursday, throwing a perfect game on just 62 pitches in an 8-0 victory over Iowa.
Gourley faced the minimum of 15 batters and struck out 12 in the run-rule effort to improve to 7-1 on the season. Only a trio of Hawkeyes were able to connect and put the ball into fair territory for the Gators (16-1) defense, none of which was threatening enough to cause concern.
The senior became just the fourth Gator to throw a perfect game in program history and the first since Stephanie Brombacher achieved the feat against NC State in 2011.
In the top of the second inning, Iowa catcher Brooke Rozier was the first to put the ball into play after four-straight strikeouts from Gourley. Rozier sent a high popup to second baseman Nicole DeWitt, which was easily handled despite the sun's position in the sky for a noontime contest.
.@_lanie33 is sitting them down & shutting them out at the #JudiGarmanClassic #PerfectGame #strikeout @GatorsSB pic.twitter.com/aoL1KcnyN0
— FloSoftball (@FloSoftball) March 2, 2017
Freshman third baseman Jaimie Hoover made the second defensive stop of the contest on a grounder looking for the 5-6 hole from Cheyenne Pratt while DeWitt handled the a 4-3 putout in the fourth for the other two.
Offensively, the Gators were efficient on the bases as the team left only five stranded while scoring eight runs on just seven hits.
Hoover led the charge, as she was one of three Gators to go 2-for-2 at the plate but led the team with a trio of RBIs. Hoover drove in runs via a bases loaded hit-by-pitch in the first, a single up the middle in the second and an infield base hit to the shortstop in the fourth.
Catcher Janell Wheaton and Amanda Lorenz were the other two Gators to go perfect at the plate in the first game. Wheaton also accounted for seven putouts while freshman Jordan Roberts tallied five after catching the final two innings of play.
Florida returns to action in the Judi Garman Classic against Long Beach State at 8:30 p.m. EST. Fans can listen live on WGGG (92.1 FM/1230 AM) & WMOP (100.1 FM/900 AM) or watch the live web stream provided by FloSoftball.com.
