With one out, the bases loaded and her squad down by two, Florida first baseman Reagan Walsh laced a ball past the Tigers’ diving first baseman. Two runners – senior center fielder Kendra Falby and shortstop Rylee Holtorf – crossed home to tie the game.
The Gators weren’t finished.
Junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan snuck a ball into right field and in came another run. Then, left fielder Korbe Otis singled to left for a final addition. The Gators' offense scored four by the time the third inning finished, the only time it added to the scoreboard the entire game.
In a close game for the Gators (33-5, 6-3 SEC), No. 4 Florida swept No. 25 Auburn 4-3, heading back to Gainesville hot after a six-game road stretch. The team’s offense collected 12 hits across the back-and-forth matchup. For the Tigers (22-14, 0-12 SEC), who remain winless in the SEC, the game – which once felt within reach – was out of their grasp.
UF rose to the occasion at the plate. The Gators batted .500 with runners on third with less than two outs, and .333 across the board with runners in scoring position. Senior center fielder Kendra Falby and freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker maintained an above .400 batting average, recording four combined hits. Falby also secured her 302nd career hit, the second most in program history.
In the circle, the Gators’ bullpen held firm despite the Tigers’ two home runs. None of the pitchers – senior Kara Hammock, sophomore Ava Brown and freshman Katelynn Oxley – went more than 3 2/3 innings. As a team, Auburn only collected four hits and batted .167.
Hammock, the right-handed starter, pitched two innings, battling an onslaught of Tiger hitters. Despite tallying two strikeouts, she also walked two batters and earned two runs after Auburn senior shortstop Nelia Peralta smacked a ball into the scoreboard.
After starting in the designated player role, Brown earned the win, maintaining her flawless 8-0 win/loss record. She walked only one batter, all while securing seven flyouts and forcing the Tigers to hit into a double play in the third. However, the righthander also gave up a home run over the center-field wall that cut the Tigers’ deficit to one run.
Oxley earned the save after stepping in for Brown in the sixth inning. She faced four batters, striking out one and relying on Florida’s defense to get the other three. With this outing, she dropped her ERA to 2.11, the second-lowest of any Florida pitcher, across more than 20 2/3 innings. Only sophomore Keagan Rothrock has a lower ERA with a 1.07
With Rothrock making her return in Saturday’s win, the bullpen faced less pressure to perform against the Auburn batters in the last two games of the series. The team could limit the number of times the Tigers saw each Gator pitcher, keeping the ball in the ballpark more than it did on Friday.
Florida has two ranked matchups this week as it returns to the Sunshine State. Before the Gators play their next SEC series at home against No. 14 Arkansas, they’ll square off against in-state rival No. 8 Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida, for a DAY midweek game. The first pitch against the Seminoles is for 6 p.m. ET.
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.
