After a month of action away from the diamond, 18 games and 14 wins, Florida starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock finally made her return to the circle on Saturday.
The sophomore had not made a start since Feb. 22 after being out with an undisclosed injury. However, she took back to the field on Saturday, showing no signs of rust in what ended up as an impressive return.
Florida’s ace wasted no time in making her mark again, displaying why she was missed by her team — especially in SEC play. Sitting at 4-3 in conference play, Rothrock made it her mission to get the Gators back on track. In four and two-thirds masterful innings, Rothrock (9-1) kept the Tigers scoreless, striking out seven batters and allowing just four hits.
The No. 4 Florida Gators (32-5, 5-3 SEC) used Rothrock’s gem to defeat the No. 25 Auburn Tigers (22-13, 0-11 SEC) 10-0 in six innings on Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field. This marked UF’s 20th run-rule win of the season, and its first in SEC play.
The victory clinched Florida’s 16th straight series win against Auburn, and it ensured UF head coach Tim Walton continued his undefeated streak against the Tigers. The win also provided a milestone, as senior center fielder Kendra Falby recorded the 300th hit of her career making her the third UF player to reach that milestone.
In the top of the second inning, Florida started the scoring and never looked back. After freshman designated player Gabi Comia reached on an infield single, senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf stepped up to the plate looking to bring her home.
Facing a 0-1 count, Holtorf took a pitch and lined it to left field for her third home run of the season, and her first against SEC competition.
Moreover, Florida managed to put the contest out of Auburn’s reach in the top of the fourth. Florida’s first six runs were all scored with two outs already on the board. With runners on second and third, freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker scored Otis off a ground ball hit that was misplayed by Auburn senior second baseman Rose Roach.
After back-to-back RBI walks from senior first baseman Reagan Walsh and junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan, sophomore second baseman Mia Williams extended her hitting streak to seven games with an RBI single to left field, providing Florida with a four-run fourth.
Shumaker continued UF’s scoring with a sacrifice groundout in the top of the fifth, while the seniors took over the scoring in the top of the sixth.
Walsh and Cahalan once again reached on consecutive walks, which set up the struggling Otis. She had not recorded multiple hits at any point in her past six contests, as well as multiple RBIs in a game since March 8 against Texas A&M.
However, this all changed for Otis in the top of the sixth. She took a 1-1 pitch and lined it into the left-center field gap for a two-RBI double.
Later in the frame, Falby hit a single to the edge of the outfield to score Otis, which moved her within one hit of Amanda Lorenz (301) for second place all-time in hits at UF.
Freshman pitcher Katelynn Oxley relieved Rothrock midway through the fifth frame and pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
In her first start since Feb. 22, Rothrock did not feel any rust from missing the extended period of time.
“Honestly, I don’t really feel like I missed a beat and everything kind of was just firing on all cylinders, so I was kind of just able to settle in pretty quick,” Rothrock said.
Florida will attempt for the series sweep against the Tigers on Sunday at noon. This would be the Gators’ first SEC series sweep of the 2025 campaign.
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.
