On a day where the offense took some time to get going, the No. 3 Florida Gators needed a standout performance from their starting pitcher to kickstart their Sunday doubleheader.
Although she falls behind sophomore starter Keagan Rothrock in Florida’s pitching rotation, Sunday belonged to sophomore Ava Brown, who took care of business against the Georgia Southern Eagles in the opening game.
The Montgomery, Texas, native turned in her best start as a Gator against the Eagles. Brown pitched a seven-inning two-hit shutout, while also batting herself onto the score sheet.
She was instrumental in the 4-0 win over Georgia Southern (2-3), which the Gators then (6-0) followed up with an 8-0 win over South Florida (3-2) in five innings.
Florida’s offense was stagnant for most of the game. After senior Korbe Otis hit an RBI single in the first inning, the offense scored no runs in the contest until the bottom of the sixth.
Junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson blasted a solo home run over the right field fence to give the Gators some much-needed insurance. Sophomore second baseman Mia Williams bounced a ball over the fence for an RBI ground-rule double later in the frame, while Brown continued her stellar performance.
Not only did Brown keep the Eagles from getting anything going with her outing on the mound, but she also gave herself run support. An RBI single in the sixth inning capped off her stellar performance and UF’s offensive output .
With the momentum from the sixth inning carrying over into their next game, the Gators got right back to work against USF.
Florida wasted no time in the top of the first, plating four runs to blow the barn doors off the Bulls. A fielding error off a ball smoked by Erickson led to two runs crossing home plate. Alabama junior transfer Kenleigh Cahalan smacked a double to center field to plate the third UF run. Later in the frame, Williams continued her impressive start to the season with an RBI single to score her infield counterpart, Cahalan.
Freshman outfielder Taylor Shumaker also kept piling on to an electric start to her UF career with a solo blast over the left field fence to plate Florida’s fifth run in two innings.
An unprecedented two-run home run from senior outfielder Kendra Falby added to d the offensive outburst against the Bulls. The next at-bat yielded the same result, as Shumaker blasted out her second home run of the game, almost in the same spot as her first moon shot, to plate the Gators’ eighth run in the first four innings.
UF starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock (3-0) dealt in five innings of work, giving up just two hits and striking out five batters.
Florida will return to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on Tuesday to take on the Jacksonville University Dolphins at 6 p.m.
Contact Jackson Colding at jcolding@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Colding_Jackson.
Jackson Colding is a junior sports journalism major and the Spring 2025 softball reporter. He is in his second semester at the sports desk. In his free time, he likes playing hockey, soccer and going to the gym.
