Florida Softball Wins SlugFest At No. 10 LSU

In their last meeting with an SEC opponent, the Gators overcame a deficit twice to force extras and secure the softball win.

This time, they got it done in six.

The No. 8 Florida Gators cruised to a 14-4 win against No. 10 LSU for their 25th run-rule victory of the season. The performance also marked UF’s first win in Baton Rouge since 2022.

Gator Hitting Fest

The opening inning of the game passed by with little fanfare, ending 0-0.

That lull would be short-lived. The Gators (41-10, 12-7 SEC) then went on to score in every inning that followed.

Mia Williams broke the scoreless tie in the second frame by belting one to left field for her team-leading 17th homer of the year. She was followed just two at-bats later by Ava Brown, who sent a ball soaring over the same fence to double UF’s lead.

However, things truly clicked for the Gators in the third inning.

Following a single by Reagan Walsh that added two more runs and chased LSU (37-11, 9-10) pitcher Jayden Heavener out of the circle, Brown stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded— and again, she didn’t miss. She hit a blast to center that cleared the bases for a grand slam, the first of her career. Suddenly, UF was up 8-0.

Florida didn’t look back after that. Though LSU got four runs back in the latter half of the third inning — two of those off a long ball by slugger Tori Edwards — the Gators were able to keep the Tigers at bay.

Florida scored six more runs over the course of the game to overwhelm reliever Tatum Clopton. All but two of the batters in UF’s lineup registered a hit, with the team going .500 with runners in scoring position. Most notably, six of Florida’s 14 runs came with two outs.

Meanwhile, Taylor Shumaker notched her 70th RBI of the year with a one-run single in the fifth inning to become just the ninth player in program history to reach that number in a single season.

In the Circle