No. 3 Gators Softball Sweeps Day 2 At Sun Devil Classic

The Gators swept both games of Saturday evening’s doubleheader.

Florida (17-1) routed the New Mexico State Aggies 12-1 and later eked out a 6-4 win against the Grand Canyon Antelopes at the Sun Devil Classic in Phoenix.

Game One: NM State

As they had so many times before, the Gators came out strong and kept the momentum rolling.

This was the Jocelyn Erickson game. After a bit of a shaky start to the season, the Arizona native dominated against the Aggies. Erickson opened the scoring for the Gators in the first inning and never looked back, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs. Kenleigh Cahalan had the other homer for Florida, sending one over the right field fence in the third to bring in two more runs.

B3 | kiss it goodbye 💋

jocey leads off the third with a solo shot to right!

Gators 4 | Aggies 0#GoGators pic.twitter.com/GCimy3BbbU

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) February 22, 2025

The Gators sealed the victory in the fourth inning. They loaded the bases against pitcher Jaileen Mancha and tacked on six more runs to extend the lead to 12-0.

In the circle, Florida freshman Katelynn Oxley made her NCAA debut, but one would never know it — she surrendered just two hits over four innings, with no earned runs. NM State’s sole run came off Kara Hammock, who pitched the final inning.

Game Two: Grand Canyon

At the beginning of the tournament, it was looking like Grand Canyon would be Florida’s toughest opponent of the weekend — and the game lived up to the expectations.

Both teams saved their heavyweight pitchers for the matchup — the Antelopes sent Maggie Place to the circle, while the Gators countered with Keagan Rothrock. Place and Rothrock entered the game with a combined ERA of 1.00.

Florida broke the stalemate in the third inning. Good plate discipline allowed the Gators to load the bases before Mia Williams squeaked one through on a fielding error to bring a runner home. With Place’s confidence wavering, the Antelopes sent out pitcher Emily Darwin, a move that immediately backfired.

Cahalan swung at the second pitch she saw, leaving GCU’s outfielders staring at the sky as the ball exited the park — a grand slam. 5-0, Gators.

T3 | KENLEIGH GRAND SLAM 💥

📺: https://t.co/0lckMelkxS (ESPN+)#GoGators | @CahalanKenleigh pic.twitter.com/cHbPWBd0rb

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) February 23, 2025

After another solo home run by Korbe Otis in the fifth, it was looking like Florida was going to put this one out of reach. However, GCU’s Alina Satcher responded with a moonshot of her own. She blasted one to left-center to bring the Antelopes within three. Then, an RBI single decreased the Gators’ lead to two.

However, that was as far as GCU got. Through a combination of good pitching and fielding, Florida was able to keep the Antelopes at bay. Ava Brown punched out the final three batters to get the save for UF.

Takeaways

The Gators were dominant against New Mexico State. More significantly, they managed to push through a challenging matchup with the Antelopes. While Florida has shown vulnerability at times this season when its momentum is tested, it overcame a tough GCU team to secure a hard-fought victory.

Looking Ahead

The Gators finish the Sun Devil Classic on Sunday against Iowa State. The game starts at 11 a.m. ET.