The No. 8 Florida Gators were in a familiar situation on Monday. Just like the day before’s contest, the Gators remained tied with No. 10 LSU late into the evening. Florida sophomore starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock had contained the Tiger lineup for most of her outing.
After allowing two walks to start the bottom of the sixth inning, she departed in favor of freshman pitcher Katelynn Oxley.
When Rothrock left, the contest turned in favor of the Tigers. LSU scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to create all the separation it needed.
LSU (39-11, 11-10 SEC) used an eight-run inning to defeat Florida (41-12, 12-9 ) on Monday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in six innings 10-2 to take the series. It was the first time Florida had been run-ruled in 2025.
The Gators opened the scoring in the top of the third. Senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf and senior center fielder Kendra Falby reached on back-to-back singles to start. After that, freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker opened the scoring in the contest with an RBI fielder’s choice.
LSU responded in the bottom of the fourth to take the lead. Tigers junior catcher Maci Bergeron started the inning with a single to right field. LSU redshirt freshman first baseman Tori Edwards followed by hitting a double to left center field to put runners on second and third with no outs.
Senior right fielder McKenzie Redoutey opened the scoring for the Tigers with an RBI groundout, and Tigers sophomore left fielder Jadyn Laneaux reached on an infield single to give LSU the lead.
Florida responded in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game. With two outs and a 3-1 count, Holtorf hit a solo home run to left center field off LSU junior pitcher Sydney Berzon (17-5), her fifth of the season.
In a relief appearance, Berzon pitched four innings, giving up one run on two hits while striking out two Florida batters. In 11 innings pitched in this series, the junior gave up just two runs on four hits and four walks.
While the pitching was even for most of the night, Rothrock (11-5) started to lose control in the bottom of the sixth. She left after giving up consecutive walks to Edwards and Redoutey. The sophomore finished with five innings pitched, allowing four runs on six hits. She struck out two batters and walked two.
After Oxley relieved Rothrock, she surrendered a single to Laneaux to load the bases. LSU junior shortstop Avery Hodge hit an RBI sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run. The ensuing batter, sophomore pinch-hitter Savanna Bedell, hit an RBI single to left field, extending the lead.
From there, the scoring onslaught continued, and Oxley finished her outing pitching just 1/3 of an inning, giving up five runs on three hits. Sophomore pitcher Olivia Miller relieved Oxley and faced five batters, giving up four walks, including back-to-back RBI ones to Laneaux and Hodge to clinch the run-rule victory for LSU.
Florida will be back in action Thursday to host No. 4 Oklahoma in a three-game series at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. First pitch for the opening contest is slated for 6 p.m.
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.
