Consistent starts is something any starting pitcher thrives on. UF sophomore right-handed pitchers Keagan Rothrock and Ava Brown can attest to that.
However, senior starting pitcher Kara Hammock has not been able to benefit from this same treatment in the past few weeks. She made her first start since Feb. 11 on Friday night against the Samford Bulldogs. While she has seen action, the last time she pitched more than two innings in a game was on Feb. 13 in relief of Brown.
Her impressive start allowed for Friday night to result in balloons, t-shirts, Gatorade pouring and “Tim Walton” cheers ringing through the crowd at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. With this victory, Tim Walton secured his 1,000th win in his 20th season as the head coach of the Florida Gators softball team.
However, his career as a Gator did not start out as he planned. After Friday’s game, Walton reminisced on a phone call he received while in line at a restaurant from former UF athletic director Jeremy Foley in 2006 after he started 0-2 as a Gator.
“He called me and goes, ‘I bet you didn’t think your career was going to start like that, did you?’” Walton said. Since that phone call, the rest has been history for the 20-year coach.
The No. 3 Florida Gators (20-1) used a strong start from Hammock to defeat the Samford Bulldogs (10-6) 9-1 in six innings and win Walton’s 1,000th game on Friday to open the Florida Invitational.
Reflecting on his milestone, Walton went back to his childhood when talking about how it felt to celebrate this achievement with his team.
“As a young kid I’m like, ‘Man, how old do you have to be to win that many games and how good do you have to be for so many years?’” Walton said.
As for the game itself, in what has been a recurring theme throughout the first 21 games to start the season, UF’s offense got off to a fast start.
Senior center fielder Kendra Falby took the second pitch of the game and beat out a throw to first for an infield single. Coming into the game with 19 stolen bases, Falby secured her 20th early on. She dashed to second on the first chance she could to keep her national lead on the season while stealing bases.
Freshman right field sensation Taylor Shumaker smacked an RBI single to center field for her nation-leading 37th RBI of the season to open the scoring and electrify the crowd. Shumaker, who has been one of the most polarizing players in the country, also leads nationally in runs and total bases, and is tied for the home run lead.
Following a walk and a stolen base from senior left fielder Korbe Otis, junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan lofted a ball into the night sky that fell just out of the reach of the diving Samford senior center fielder McKayla Cothran for a two-run double in the bottom of the first.
Two innings later, the Gators struck for four more runs, with the usual suspects doing the damage.
After another single from Shumaker, Otis ripped an RBI single up the middle for the first of four runs in the bottom of the third. Senior first baseman Reagan Walsh continued her improved play at the plate, as she roped a RBI double down the third base line. Freshman designated player Gabi Comia then scored Walsh and sophomore second baseman Mia William on a two-run double that split the left field gap.
Walsh hit her second RBI double of the game in the bottom of the fifth, which scored Cahalan, who had hit a double just prior. The third baseman notched her third RBI of the game in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to clinch the run-rule victory and start the Walton celebrations.
Hammock (4-0) pitched five spectacular innings on Friday. She allowed just four hits, one run on a RBI walk and struck out four batters. Brown pitched a scoreless final inning in relief.
“I think confidence was the biggest thing, my teammates have been really trying to feed me confidence, and I think tonight it just clicked that they have my back,” Hammock said.
She said it clicked that she could allow the ball to go into play, and her team behind her would turn the plays.
The Gators will continue the Florida Invitational with a doubleheader on Saturday. They take on the Troy Trojans at 11:30 a.m., followed by a date with the Western Michigan Broncos at 2 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.
