After falling in midweek action against Florida State, the Florida softball team looked to bounce back against Georgia on Friday.
The Gators came out with aggressive base running and quality at-bats to shine in the contest.
The offensive production earned Florida (38-11, 13-6 SEC) its 26th run-rule victory against the Bulldogs (36-12, 10-8 SEC) at Athens, Georgia.
Florida’s offense came out the gate strong in the first inning, recording three runs on three hits. Junior left-fielder Korbe Otis led off with a double to right field, and redshirt senior Skylar Wallace was hit by a pitch.
With one out, sophomore catcher Jocelyn Erickson drove Otis home with a double down the left-field foul line. Freshman infielder Ava Brown smashed a single to the center field wall to extend the Gators’ lead to 3-0.
UF right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock delivered another strong performance to lead the Gators in the circle. The freshman allowed just five walks and two hits through five scoreless innings.
The Bulldogs offense earned back-to-back walks to open the bottom of the second inning. With no outs, Rothrock was faced in familiar territory, but kept her composure. She ended the frame 1-2-3 to keep Georgia scoreless.
Florida kept it rolling with an explosive fourth inning. Freshman third baseman Ariel Kowalewski led off with a single to right field, and proceeded to steal third on a sacrifice bunt by freshman second baseman Mia Williams.
Back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Wallace stepped up and drove a two-run single up center field to force a pitching change for Georgia. With two runners on and one out, Erickson drove Otis home from third with her sixth sacrifice fly of the year. Wallace stole home to extend the lead to 8-0.
Georgia put its first run on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff solo home run to left center field. Despite allowing two hits, Rothrock and the Gators escaped the trouble to earn a run-rule win.
Next, Florida will face Georgia in Game 2 on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Jack Turner Softball Stadium.
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.
