Florida loses opening game of series with Alabama

It was a first inning to remember, or maybe forget.

As Florida returned home for a beautiful Thursday evening SEC series opening night, everything seemed good in the world. The Gators were coming off of a road series win against No. 19 Ole Miss. Their offense was buzzing, scoring 28 runs in its three-game stint in Oxford, Mississippi. Sophomore pitcher Keagan Rothrock was finding her footing on the mound after an early-season injury. 

She took the mound again to a roar, but 11 minutes later, the righty stumbled into the dugout. It had been a monstrosity of an opening frame, with Alabama scoring seven runs in the blink of an eye. Some even left the pregame concession lines to find their starting pitcher had been evicted. But that was the evening. 

In a night that featured two runs after the opening inning amid an utter lack of offense, No. 8 Florida (37-10, 9-7 SEC) was unable to escape its first-inning woes, falling 7-3 to No. 22 Alabama (31-16, 8-8). 

The opening inning concluded with four Alabama hits and two costly Florida overthrows to first base in an opening slate that left the Gators’ bench shell-shocked. The peak of the confusion came on an errant toss that ended up in right field, with freshman Taylor Shumaker staring into the setting Gainesville sun. As she went to pick up the ball, she got a quality handful of grass and batted around grasping at the precious orb. 

It was all but too late. By the time she controlled the ball, Alabama had already added another two runs. That’s when Florida head coach Tim Walton decided it’d be best to pull his ace, Rothrock, and sophomore Olivia Miller replaced her.

“[I] just go out there and give it my all, trust in my defense,” Miller said, explaining her mindset entering a situation like Thursday night’s. “In that moment, just focusing on executing my pitches and getting that final out.”

From there, it was a fairly competitive contest. The teams traded unproductive innings, with neither scoring until the fifth. Between the second and fourth, Alabama got one hit and only finished the game having added two to its first inning total. 

But that was largely the product of Miller. The lefty pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, and while she didn’t record a strikeout, she weathered what originally seemed like could soon become a sandstorm in the Florida infield.

She was replaced by senior righty Kara Hammock, who nerve-rackingly allowed two on base immediately, but closed the game with a pair of scoreless innings. However, it didn’t matter what Miller or Hammock did. 

While Florida’s offense slowly got things going with a pair of middle-inning runs, it never truly found its footing, leaving five on base in the final five innings. That was most pertinent in the final inning.

After Hammock struck out Alabama junior catcher Marlie Giles to end the top of the seventh, Florida’s bench was alive with anticipation, heads bobbing along the fence. That strengthened when sophomore pinch hitter Ava Brown launched a ball into the left-center gap and rounded into second. Moments later, senior center fielder Kendra Falby, who was Florida’s only bright spot with a pair of hits and a run, launched a single that propelled Brown home. The scoreboard lit up in the darkened sky as the Gators opened their comeback bid. 

But just as the rest of the evening went, the hope disappeared instantaneously as Shumaker hit a pop up to end the game. From there, the team stumbled into the locker room disheartened.

In what needed to be a tuneup for a pair of top-10 opponents that await in its next two series against No. 9 LSU and No. 4 Oklahoma, Florida got a dud. Now, it turns its focus to game two against the Crimson Tide, looking to keep its series-victory hopes alive. The Gators are set to take the field at 6 p.m. tomorrow in Gainesville for the rematch, with one thing on their minds, at least according to Miller.

“Keep working.”

Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X @noahwhite1782.

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