Gators Softball Wins Series Against South Carolina

The No. 10 Gators went toe-to-toe with the South Carolina Gamecocks, but, eventually, Florida’s offense broke through for a 7-6 win Sunday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Despite freshman pitcher Keagan Rothrock’s struggles in the circle, the Gators (37-10, 12-6 SEC) walked away with a series win for the first time since April 8.

 In a Nutshell

• Ariel Kowalewski homered to right center, increasing her season total to five.
• Jocelyn Erickson continues to lead the team with 57 RBIs this season. Her previous career-high was 32 RBIs.
• The Gators won a SEC series for the fifth time in six tries.

 Keagan’s struggles continue

Rothrock  struggled to find consistency against South Carolina (30-17, 6-12). Rothrock often got two strikes early in the count. But, the Gamecocks worked themselves back and either hit the ball or walked. She only pitched three innings, giving up six hits and two walks. Mackenzie Wooten (2-0) and Ava Brown (save) finished the remaining four innings.

Rothrock is also dealing with an increase in innings pitched. In high school, she pitched a high of 170 innings. She’s at 154 innings pitched now.

With eight regular-season games left and the guarantee of postseason play, load management is something Florida should be aware of.

UF coach Tim Walton said he wasn’t concerned with the amount of innings pitched as much as the emotional stress that a game can put on a pitcher:

Florida’s Offense Finds Footing

Florida’s offense started slow against South Carolina. The Gators knocked out two pitchers in the second inning, but they entered the fourth behind 5-2.

The Gators started to claw back with Kowalewski’s two-run home run. Kendra Falby then tripled to center field to score Emily Wilkie, who had walked, to tie the score at 5-5. Erickson shot an RBI single to left field and the Gators took the lead, 6-5.

The Gamecocks tied the game 6-6 with a run in the fifth.

Clutch Hitting

The Gators took the lead for good in the sixth. With two outs, Erickson again came through with a run-scoring single to put UF up 7-6.

Back in the lead!@joceyerickson is on fire today 😮‍💨

📺 SEC Network | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/3mGUQtkAN6

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 21, 2024

Wallace Woes

Skylar Wallace’s struggles continued. She had no hits in her three at-bats Saturday. Sunday, she went 0-for-4, including hitting into three double plays.

It’s only the latest in her series of uncharacteristic games. Against Mizzou, she only had two hits in 11 at-bats.

Walton said he isn’t worried about Wallace, the 2023 SEC Player of the Year and NFCA All-American shortstop:

Up Next

The Gators host No. 18 FSU at 6 p.m. Wednesday (SEC Network+, ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF). They then travel to Athens, Ga., for a three-game series against the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs.

GOT THE SERIES WIN 🎉#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/lW9dJ0UL6I

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 21, 2024