Florida softball tops Baylor, punching ticket to 12th Women’s College World Series
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida softball is going back to the Women’s College World Series. The No. 4-seed Gators took the Gainesville Super Regional on Sunday with a 5-3 win over Baylor in Game 3.
Florida got a complete game from standout pitcher Keagan Rothrock (7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 K). The Gators provided Rothrock with some early run support on Sunday.
In UF’s first at-bat, a sac fly broke the scoring ice when Korbe Otis crossed the plate. Reagan Walsh added an RBI single through the left side to make it 2-0 in the bottom of the 1st inning.
Rothrock kept Baylor from immediately answering. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, UF extended its lead with a 2-run home run off the bat of Mia Williams.
MIA WILLIAMS HOME RUN #RoadToWCWS x ESPNU / @GatorsSB pic.twitter.com/7w5s8mbOn1
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 26, 2024
It remained a 4-0 game through the 3rd inning. Baylor ended the shutout in the 4th inning. Back-to-back singles with a throwing error allowed the Bears to get on the board. Rothrock was able to retire the next three Baylor batters.
Baylor, though, wasn’t done scoring. The Bears cut it to 4-3 in the top of the 5th inning when Emily Hott hit a 2-run homer to right field. Once again, Rothrock bounced back by retiring the next three batters.
Florida recaptured the momentum in the bottom of the 5th by adding an insurance run. Ariel Kowalewski brought home Jocelyn Erickson on a sac fly to make it 5-3.
Baylor brought the tying run to the plate in the 6th after a 1-out single. Rothrock retired the next two with a flyout and grounder to second.
The threat was more intense in the 7th. Baylor had its first two batters reach on a leadoff single, followed up by an 8-pitch walk. Rothrock settled in, retiring the next three on two pop outs sandwiched between a liner to left field.
Feeling Super pic.twitter.com/Id8EIdQpfz
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 26, 2024
With the win, Florida improves to 51-13 for the 2024 season. The Gators had been on a 12-game winning streak through the end of the regular season, SEC Tournament and NCAA Regional before Baylor won Saturday’s game 5-2.
This is the 12th time Tim Walton has taken the Gators to the Women’s College World Series. The WCWS begins Thursday in Oklahoma City.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
