The Florida Softball team (42-22) defeated Stetson (41-14), 1-0, on Senior Day at the Florida Softball Stadium Tuesday night. It was truly a defensive game, as there were only seven hits between the two teams and only two runners, including the winning run, were able to move past second.

Florida did not get its first hit until the bottom of the third when junior Shelley Stevens (Gainesville, Fla.) drove a base hit, her first of two on the day, through the left side.

The Gators took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Kristen Butler (Orlando, Fla.) was hit by an Erica Demers pitch to lead off the inning. Freshman Alicia Spack (West Lafayette, Ind.) came in to pinch run for her. Spack advanced to second on a sacrifice by senior Mirelis Torres (Tampa, Fla.). With two outs, senior Stacie Pestrak (Gainesville, Fla.) knocked a base hit to left center to score Spack and give the Gators the 1-0 lead.

Junior Stacey Stevens (Gainesville, Fla.) started the game and pitched four innings to earn the win, her 20th of the season. Freshman Stacey Nelson (Los Alamitos, Calif.) came in in the fifth inning and did not allow a runner on base to earn her fifth save of the season, setting the school record for saves in a season.

Before the game seniors Pestrak, Butler, Torres, Lindsey Cameron (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.),  Laura Templeton (Odessa, Fla.) and Lindsay Norfleet (Madison, Fla.) were honored prior to the game and their mothers and Pestrak’s twin sister threw out the first pitches. Florida Head Coach Tim Walton took the seniors out in the sixth and seventh innings to receive one last applause from the home crowd.

The Gators will now travel to Athens, Ga. for the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The fifth seeded Gators will face the fourth seeded Tennessee Lady Vols at noon on Thursday. On Wednesday evening, prior to the start of the tournament, the league will announce the All-SEC and Freshman All-SEC teams.