Florida is having its way so far this weekend in its home Gainesville Regional, but there was still work to be done for the Gators after Saturday’s 8-0 run-rule victory over Georgia Tech.
With its second run-rule win in as many days, Florida advanced to Sunday’s regional final, which is scheduled to begin at noon ET. Now, the only question for the Gators was who they would be facing for a shot to advance out of Gainesville. That future opponent was to be determined later Saturday in the double-elimination format.
Florida will have a fallback on Sunday, because even if it lost that first game it would get another chance at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET because the Gators are undefeated after 2 easy victories on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s foe could be the same Yellow Jackets that Florida easily dispatched on Saturday, with Georgia Tech set to return to the field later Saturday to face Texas State for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Texas State eliminated Florida A&M with a 6-0 victory on Saturday to set up its showdown with the Yellow Jackets, who were worn down by the powerhouse Gators. Florida, the No. 6 national seed, improved to 50-10 on the season and also ran its record to 35-1 in home regional games since the 2012 season.
Not only have the Gators not been tested yet this weekend, they have yet to allow a single run as they cruised into play on Sunday. On Saturday, it was Kegan Rothrock who starred on the mound, tossing 5 scoreless innings against Georgia Tech. She allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and hit 1 batter, striking out 4. Rothrock has now thrown 8 scoreless innings this weekend.
Florida effectively put Saturday’s game away with a 4-run third inning. Shortstop Kenleigh Calahan provided the big blow in the frame, smacking a 3-run home run, with right fielder Cassidy McLellan adding an RBI triple.
The Gators tacked on 3 more runs in the fourth, with Ava Brown belting an RBI double and Townsen Thomas adding an RBI single. Thomas later came around to score by stealing home.
It was complete dominance again for Florida, which still knows there’s more to do on Sunday to get to the next step.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
