Less than 24 hours after its semifinals victory, the Florida softball team was back at Devon Park to face Oklahoma in a rubber matchup.
UF freshman right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock made her 13th start of postseason play in the match. The Sooners knew what to expect with Rothrock after seeing her through seven innings Monday, while the Gators faced lefty ace pitcher Kelly Maxwell for the first time this season.
However, Florida wasn’t frightened. Its offensive production continued to record three home runs through the first three innings and put the Gators ahead 5-2. Oklahoma bounced back and tied the game in the bottom of the sixth frame.
Florida failed to capitalize in extra innings as the Sooners retired the Gators with three consecutive ground outs.
OU’s leadoff senior center fielder Jayda Coleman crushed a home run to left field to walk it off for the Sooners, and the Florida Gators softball team saw its season come to a close.
The No. 4-seeded Florida Gators (54-15) fell to the No. 2-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (54-7) 6-5 in the Women’s College World Series Semifinals Tuesday.
Former OU teammate and UF junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson tagged Maxwell to put the Gators ahead in the top of the first inning. The 2024 SEC Player of the Year crushed a two-run home run over the right field wall.
However, Oklahoma responded in the bottom half of the inning with the same results. Sooners freshman Ella Parker drove a two-run home run to center field and tied the game 2-apiece.
OU attempted to rally off a double and a walk, but Wallace produced a double play to end the frame.
Florida kept the home run rally going in the top of the second inning. Freshman third baseman Ariel Kowalewski blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall and reclaimed UF’s lead.
Maxwell fought to keep the Gators off the scoreboard with back-to-back strikeouts in the top of the third frame.
But, junior infielder Reagan Walsh had other plans. With two outs, she crushed an inside pitch over the left field wall for her 19th home run of the season.
Rothrock settled down in the bottom half of the third and retired the side 1-2-3. But Oklahoma threatened in the bottom of the fourth as junior first baseman Cydney Sanders cut the deficit to 5-4 with a two-run home run.
The Sooners did not stop there. OU Parker delivered an RBI single to left center field to deadlock the inning at 5-apiece.
Florida attempted to extend the lead through the next two innings, but Coleman’s home run eliminated the Gators from the Women’s College World Series Championship to ultimately end their 2024 season.
Contact Hailey Hurst at hhurst@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @haileyjhurst.
Hailey Hurst is a second-year journalism major with a focus in sports media and a sports reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach and cheering for Miami sports teams.
