After a three-hour weather delay, the Florida softball team entered the Semifinals against Oklahoma looking to avoid elimination. It did just that.
The Gators’ offense sparked in the showdown and threatened the three-time reigning NCAA champion through six innings.
UF junior infielder Reagan Walsh had a strong at bat recording four RBIs. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with two outs and two runners on, Walsh crushed a three-run home run to the left field bleachers to put the Gators ahead 7-1.
Twelve of Florida’s 16 runs scored in the Women’s College World Series have been earned with two outs.
The No. 4-seeded Florida Gators (54-14) offensive production defeated the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners (53-7) 9-3 in the WCWS Semifinals at Devon Park.
Florida had a strong start defensively in the top of the first inning. Freshman right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock walked the first batter of the game, but she managed to settle down the next three in order.
Walsh put the Gators ahead 1-0 in the bottom half of the inning. She dropped a shallow two-out single to left field and scored junior left fielder Korbe Otis from second.
Rothrock walked a leadoff hitter for the second-straight inning, but her defense had her back. Junior center fielder Kendra Falby made a ridiculous catch in center field to rob the Sooners of a run. The runner on third was surprised by the catch and failed to tag up.
Falby built off her catch and snapped a batting slump in the bottom of the second inning. The leadoff hitter in all 66 Florida games went 0-for-20 in the postseason and was slotted to hit seventh during Sunday’s matchup against Alabama.
She moved to ninth in the order against Oklahoma. With two outs, she shot a ball to left field that reached the wall after Oklahoma senior left fielder Rylie Boone dove and missed. Using her speed, she delivered an inside-the-park solo home run – the first at the World Series since 2014.
UF redshirt senior Skylar Wallace followed with a solo home run shot over the right field wall to extend the lead to 3-0. The hit marked her first home run in the World Series as a Gator.
Florida kept it rolling in the bottom of the third frame and forced the Sooners to make their first pitching change. UF freshman Ava Brown, who went 0-for-10 dating to the Super Regionals, delivered a two-out double to give the Gators a 4-0 lead.
Oklahoma broke through the score with a pair of hits and its first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning. Despite Walsh’s three-run homer, the Sooners did not give up and threatened in the top of the fifth with a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 7-3.
With two outs in the bottom of the half of the inning, Wallace blasted a two-run shot over the center field wall to extend the lead to 9-3. The second shot of the game off two different pitchers.
Rothrock worked out a two-on, no-out jam in the top of the sixth to keep the frame scoreless.
The Sooners had one last opportunity in the seventh to late rally with loaded bases via three consecutive walks and two outs. However, Rothrock forced a fly out to senior right fielder Katie Kistler to push off the Gator’s elimination.
Next, Florida will face the Oklahoma Sooners in a match Tuesday to determine who advances to the WCWS Championship series game. The time is to be decided.
Contact Hailey Hurst at hhurst@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @haileyjhurst.
Hailey Hurst is a second-year journalism major with a focus in sports media and a sports reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach and cheering for Miami sports teams.
