Heading into a crucial SEC series that could determine NCAA Tournament seeding, the No. 8 Florida Gators were looking to make a statement against the No. 10 LSU Tigers.
Sophomore designated player Ava Brown stepped up in a major way for her team at the plate. With Florida up 4-0 in the contest and having already hit a home run, she stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and two outs.
Brown took a two-strike pitch and lifted it out of the reach of LSU junior center fielder Jalia Lassiter for her first career grand slam and multi-home run game.
Florida (41-10, 12-7 SEC) used Brown’s electric performance at the plate to defeat LSU (37-11, 9-10 SEC) at Tiger Park on Saturday in six innings 14-4. This was Florida’s 24th run-rule win of the season and its first against LSU since 2014 (third overall).
Fourteen runs is the most the Gators have ever scored against LSU, and they got the scoring started in the second inning. Sophomore second baseman Mia Williams took a 3-1 pitch and hit her team-leading 17th home run of the season on a blast to left field.
Two at-bats later, Brown hit her first home run of the contest to left field in a similar spot to her counterpart, Williams.
Florida continued the scoring in the top of the third. Following an infield single from senior center fielder Kendra Falby and walks from freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker and junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson, Florida had the bases loaded with one out.
Senior first baseman Reagan Walsh took advantage of the opportunity on a two-strike pitch, lacing a two-run single to center field to give her team a four-run lead.
After Brown’s grand slam later in the top of the third, LSU responded in the bottom half of the frame. Tigers sophomore left fielder Jadyn Laneaux hit a one-out double before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Following a strikeout walk from redshirt senior third baseman Danieca Coffey, Lassiter hit an RBI single to right field to crack the scoreboard for the Tigers. The ensuing batter, redshirt freshman first baseman Tori Edwards, hit a three-run home run to left field to cut their deficit in half.
This would be all Florida sophomore starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock (11-4) would give up. She pitched six innings, allowing six hits and four runs while striking out three batters and walking two.
In the top of the fourth, Florida continued to put pressure on LSU. Shumaker walked and senior left fielder Korbe Otis hit a single to left field to put multiple runners on the basepaths. Erickson hit an RBI double to left field off a 2-0 pitch to plate her team’s ninth run. Walsh, the ensuing batter, hit an RBI sacrifice fly to give Florida double-digit runs.
The top of the sixth showed more of the same for Florida, as it scored three more runs in the frame. After Erickson reached on a double and Walsh hit an infield single, junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan hit a ground ball through the infield past the glove of LSU junior shortstop Avery Hodge for a two-run single.
Three batters later, following a walk from Brown and a single from senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf, Falby concluded the scoring with an RBI groundout to give her team a double-digit run win. In this contest, every member of Florida’s starting lineup recorded at least one hit.
Florida will look to do more of the same and take the series in game two on Sunday, with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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.
