For the No. 8 Florida Gators, pitching has been a struggle in their recent SEC and midweek contests. Friday remained no different, as Florida sophomore starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock gave up seven runs in four innings against the No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels.
However, her offense was there to pick her up throughout Friday’s outing. With the game was tied in the top of the fifth inning, senior left fielder Korbe Otis knocked in a timely RBI single to right field to put her team ahead.
Florida (36-8, 8-5 SEC) never looked back, using Otis’ four-RBI game to defeat the Rebels (30-10, 6-7) on Friday 8-7 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. It was the second time in the 2025 campaign Florida won the opening game of an SEC series.
The Rebels jumped on Rothrock early in her outing. The Florida pitcher started the game by hitting Ole Miss senior left fielder Jaden Pone before walking senior right fielder Lair Beautae. The ensuing batter, Ole Miss senior catcher Lexie Brady, reached on an error by UF junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan, which opened the scoring.
Freshman first baseman Persy Llamas and senior designated player Aliyah Binford followed suit with a pair of RBI singles to cap off the three-run frame for the Rebels.
Florida responded with four runs in the second inning. Sophomore second baseman Mia Williams started the frame with her 14th home run of the season, as well as her first of two in the game. She hit a solo blast to left field to open the scoring for UF.
Two batters later, sophomore designated player Ava Brown walked, and Holtorf followed her with an infield single. Florida senior center fielder Kendra Falby blasted a two-run triple to right center field to tie the contest, 3-3. Two at-bats later, Otis hit an RBI single up the middle, which gave Florida the lead.
The Rebels evened the contest in the bottom of the second as Rothrock’s struggles continued. Ole Miss junior center fielder Taylor Malvin started the inning with a single, while Llamas went on to score via a fielding error by Williams.
The Florida offense continued to get to Ole Miss freshman starting pitcher Miali Guachino. Williams blasted her second solo home run of the contest to left field in the top of the third, her 15th of the season. This blast moved her into a tie for first place on the team with Shumaker.
After walks by Cahalan and Holtorf, Guachino was replaced by senior pitcher Brianna Lopez (7-2). Shumaker struck out looking for the second out, and Otis was once again in a two-out spot looking to deliver. She took a full-count pitch and lined it to center field for a two-run single.
As the night went on, Rothrock could not keep the Rebels from clawing back into the contest. She allowed back-to-back singles by Malvin and Poe to start the bottom of the fourth. Beautae, the ensuing batter, drilled a three-run home run to right field to even the contest.
Rothrock (10-2) pitched four innings, but struggled for her third straight outing, and her fourth since returning from injury. In four innings, she gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits while striking out three batters.
Freshman pitcher Katelynn Oxley relieved her and pitched three scoreless innings for her third save of the season. She gave up two hits and struck out the final batter she faced for her lone punch out.
Florida will look to take the series against Ole Miss on Saturday, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. ET.
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.
