Steadying herself in the box, Taylor Shumaker launched the softball into the gap between the right and center fielders. The freshman sprinted past first and slid into second for a double, the Gators first hit of the night.
Later that night, Florida’s right fielder would continue her perfect performance at the plate with a double and a sacrifice fly, doing damage in all three of her at-bats with two RBIs.
In the No. 4 Gators' high-scoring Friday night matchup at No. 25 Auburn, Florida (31-5, 4-3 SEC) clinched an 11-7 win over the Tigers (22-12, 0-10 SEC). The Gators' offense, scoring runs in every inning except the first and third, overshadowed their fluidity in the pitching circle. For the first time since the Texas series, UF has a winning conference record.
While Shumaker never missed during her at-bats, junior Kenleigh Cahalan was the first to put the Gators on the board in the second inning. On a 1-0 count, she shot a ball down the right-field line and over the wall. It was a hometown showing for the third baseman who was born in Trussville, Alabama, and played for the Crimson Tide as a freshman and sophomore.
Cahalan’s homer was one of two for Florida. Sophomore second baseman Mia Williams blasted another over the left-field wall in the sixth inning. Her home run gave UF some breathing room after Auburn senior right fielder Icess Tresvik sent the crowd into a frenzy with a fifth-inning grand slam that pulled the Tigers within one run.
Florida backed the homers with smart baserunning and precise batting. Four of its 11 runs came from either singles or doubles. The Tigers, with three total errors, gave up four runs to the Gators, who capitalized on their opponents' mistakes.
Hiding in the shadows of the offense’s success, Florida’s pitching staff couldn’t maintain momentum as head coach Tim Walton rotated between three in the circle: freshman Katelynn Oxley, senior Kara Hammock and sophomore Ava Brown. Each had two earned runs by the time the Tigers ended their night at the plate.
Hammock, who only pitched 1 1/3 innings, recorded the win during her appearance in the fourth and part of the fifth inning. She ended her night with four walks, one force out and one ground out across the seven batters she faced, throwing 33 total pitches.
The starter, Oxley, gave up the most hits across the night with five. She struggled at times to find the zone, hitting one player with a pitch and walking three others. However, it was the third inning that sunk her night when two runs scored and the batter, sophomore catcher Kylie Brockman, reached second on a throwing error by Shumaker. Having seen enough, Walton then switched to Hammock.
After she walked two in the fifth to start the inning, Brown was brought into the game to close for Florida. However, after another walk to fill the bases, Tresvik’s grand slam gave Brown two earned runs in the fifth. The sophomore right-hander's second appearance an inning later was a return to form, only allowing a single to Tigers first baseman senior Anna Wohlers.
While the Gators clinched the win, the pitching staff remains an unanswered question for Florida. Collectively, UF only struck out four batters, relying on its defense to put together the rest with nine force outs and six ground outs. Moreover, Florida’s pitchers sent eight batters to first with walks. With the return date of strike-out dominant sophomore Keagan Rothrock still unknown, the Gators’ ability to win games rests firmly in the hands of their offense.
Florida will play Auburn again on Saturday in game two at 3 p.m. with a chance to secure the series.
Contact Liana Handler at lhandler@alligator.org. Follow her on X @handlerliana
Liana is the Gators gymnastic beat reporter for the Alligator and a junior sports journalism major. In her free time, she likes to play dominos and listen to Celia Cruz.
