With a full count and no outs, UF junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson saw a pitch she loved and launched it over 190 feet. The ball flew over the right field fence as Erickson jogged around the bases. All Texas A&M senior pitcher Emiley Kennedy could do was kick dirt and attempt to reset.
But no matter how hard she tried, Kennedy couldn’t find the zone. Florida’s hitters worked themselves into full counts 11 times, rewarding patience in the batter’s box with homers, RBIs and walks.
On a cloudy, cold day in College Station, Texas, Erickson was red-hot. The aforementioned moon shot marked her second home run in a weekend where she dominated in the box and behind the plate. She threw out senior Aggie shortstop Koko Wooley, catching her on her way to third base, stranded among a sea of Florida defenders.
Earning its seventh-straight SEC-opening series since 2019, No. 3 Florida defeated No. 4/5 Texas A&M 4-2 in a rubber match, clinching two straight games. Under head coach Tim Walton, the Gators have now won 17 out of his 20 conference opening series.
Florida (26-2, 2-1 SEC) went into the series without sophomore pitcher Keagan Rothrock, the team’s No. 1 starter and most consistent player in the circle. However, the Gators bullpen and freshman Katelynn Oxley showed out.
The righty, who threw 6 2/3 innings in the first game of the series, lasted four innings with two earned runs, striking out one. Though Texas A&M (21-4, 1-2 SEC) pushed two runs across, Oxley looked dominant against the Aggies, who entered the series No. 18 in RBIs and No. 19 in scoring in the nation. She was replaced by senior right-hander Kara Hammock, who shut out the Aggies over the course of three innings.
Despite Rothrock’s undisclosed injury keeping her out, the Gators' pitching held up against a top-5 team, limiting TAMU to a series-high of four runs. It’s a good sign as the team looks ahead toward other dominant conference batters.
The Gators put up strong defensive performances, matching their offensive power. With the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the seventh, senior left fielder Korbe Otis dove into the left field grass, her arm fully extending. She caught the ball, and the game ended before Texas A&M could do any damage.
Only an out before her play, center fielder Kendra Falby caught a fly ball to center-left field, tumbling into the grass with the ball in her glove. She held her hands up in celebration, greeted by Otis as she stood up in a hug.
Florida’s diving plays, though, were not limited to the seventh inning. In the bottom of the first, third baseman junior Kenleigh Cahalan snatched the ball to end the inning on a diving play that sent her sprawling in the grass near the coach’s box. All around, the defensive plays by UF prevented Texas A&M runs from being pushed across the board.
As the Gators continue to pave their path to Oklahoma City, they’ll face first-time SEC opponents, Texas and Oklahoma – some of the best softball teams in the nation. However, this series proved the strength of UF without one of its stars, winning two out of three in a series where Florida’s pitching was competitive in every inning of each game.
Additionally, the depth of Florida’s lineup held strong against a Texas A&M pitching staff who entered the series No. 12 in the country in ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio. Led by sophomore second baseman Mia Williams and her homer over the center field wall, the bottom of the lineup put runners in scoring position twice.
Florida returns home for its hardest four-game stretch of the season so far with an SEC weekend series against arguably one of the best teams in the nation, No. 1/2 Texas. Before then, Florida plays a midweek game against in-state rival UCF on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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.
