There's a reason Hannah Adams was one of the top 25 best players in the country this season.
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Sure, she can hit the crud out of the ball. The left-handed hitter can slap balls the other way and get on base for the Florida Gators softball team. She's also one of the most clutch players in Gainesville, and not just with the bat in her hands.
In Florida's 8-0 win over USF on Sunday to send UF to the NCAA Super Regional round, the star second baseman preserved the Gators' no-hitter in remarkable fashion.
Hannah Adams' Off-Balance Play
.@hmadamss11 is ๐๐๐ best defensive infielder in @NCAAsoftballโผ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/XTfNeEGv0U
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 23, 2021
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Florida took care of business as usual through the first six and a half innings at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
When the bottom of the seventh inning rolled around, Elizabeth Hightower had a no-hitter to finish. She completed it but not without an incredible defensive play from Adams.
Bulls hitter Brooke Hartman chopped a ball over Hightower's head. Adams raced over a good 10 feet to the other side of second base, quickly made the glove-to-hand exchange and fired over in an off-balance manner to get the out.
Oh, and props to first baseman Kendyl Lindaman for barely getting her toe down on the bag to help keep the no-hitter intact.
The funny thing is Adams made a play pretty darn similar to this one in the first inning:
.@ElizabethH_99_ no hitter โ @sarah_longleyy grand slam โ
Advance to Super Regionals โ #GoGators | #RoadtoWCWS pic.twitter.com/0d0Oc3Eplg— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 23, 2021
Without plays like these, there's no way Hightower would have thrown the program's fourth complete-game, no-hitter in NCAA Tournament history. The last to do so was Aleshia Ocasio a year ago also against South Florida. Tough luck, USF.
"My defense saved me so many times for me to actually achieve this no-hitter," Hightower said after the game. "Hannah (Adams) made an amazing play, just a lot of good defensive outs. Once I finally figured my change-up out later in the game, I kind of settled in and took it from there."
Gator fans likely remember Adams' name from Game 1 of the Gainesville Regional. She provided the walk-off double in Florida's 1-0 win over USF after the team pulled off an incredible game-saving double play.
Hannah Adams is a star and this weekend she showed why. She'll get to prove that again next weekend against the Georgia Bulldogs in Super Regionals.
