Florida Softball Drops First Game Of Season

The No. 2 Florida Gators softball team suffered its first loss of the season Sunday, an 8-1 defeat to No. 14 Duke in the final game of the Bubly Invitational at Katie Seashole Ptessly Stadium.

The loss ended the Gaators’ 13-game win streak to start the season. It also marks Duke’s highest-ranked win in program history.

Final #GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/2k5WY8dcRA

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) February 17, 2025

Slow Start

The normally hot Gators (13-1) lineup struggled to find its footing early. Despite pitcher Keagan Rothrock (6-1) keeping the Blue Devils (7-3) off the board in the top of the first, Florida could not capitalize on the early opportunity to take the lead.

The Blue Devils came out swinging in the second, shaking off the rust of the rain delay. They took the term two-out rally literally by scoring five runs after their first two batters failed to get on base. After Florida allowed a runner to reach on an error, redshirt junior Jada Baker opened up the scoring for Duke with an RBI triple to right field.

Errors quickly plagued the Gators defense. They allowed a popup to drop just behind second base that scored Baker. Reagan Walsh came off first base on a grounder to second to allow another runner on for the Blue Devils. Rothrock hit the next batter to load the bases. Junior Aminah Vega ripped a line drive up the third-base line to score two and increase Duke’s lead to four.

MORE RUNS! 🔥

Aminah with the 2 RBI single to keep it rolling!

🔵😈 4, 🐊 0

— Duke Softball (@DukeSOFTBALL) February 16, 2025

Florida managed to escape the inning during the next at-bat, but not before Duke doubled to left center to knock in another run. Korbe Otis wrangled in the ball in left and managed to throw out another Duke runner at home for the third out. All five runs scored in the inning were unearned.

Mia Williams scored the lone run of the game for the Gators on a solo shot to left center field in the bottom of the inning. Florida coach Tim Walton mentioned the improvements Williams has made in her sophomore season:

Despite Williams big hit, the Gators could not keep the momentum going when the inning ended down 5-1.

Blue Devils Build Lead

Both teams went scoreless in the third, but the Blue Devils bats weren’t finished. Baker got Duke going in the top of the fourth by hitting a double. She scored on the next at-bat on a single up the middle. Junior D’Auna Jennings then smashed an RBI triple to left field that recorded the first earned run of the year on Rothrock.

Up 7-1, Duke drove in another run on a base hit that scored Jennings. Florida got out of the inning on the next batter to limit the damage to three.

Florida couldn’t get anything going in the bottom of the inning. The Gators opted for a pitching change to start the fifth, moving sophomore Ava Brown into the circle. Brown pitched two innings before being pulled in favor of senior Kara Hammock in the seventh. Both pitchers kept Duke’s bats quiet for the rest of the game.

https://twitter.com/DukeSOFTBALL/status/1891283212585800150

Family Reunion

Freshman Layla Lamar, daughter of Duke coach Marissa Young, entered the game for Florida in the bottom of the seventh as a pinch hitter. Despite not getting on base against Duke, Lamar did pick up her first collegiate hit against Binghamton earlier in the invitational. Walton talked about how important family can be to a young college athlete:

Takeaways

The Gators are not unbeatable. They started the season hot, but carrying that momentum forward may prove difficult. The team struggled defensively against the Blue Devils and could not back up its pitchers even when they were throwing strikes. The Gators play to their energy level and when one error happens sometimes it’s difficult for them to not let it spiral and turn into more. At the plate, Florida didn’t start well and did not have any big innings later on in the game. Stringing hits together when the top of the lineup is struggling will be another key for the Gators to figure out.

Up Next

After a trip to Jacksonville to face UNF on Wednesday, the Gators head to Arizona for the Sun Devil Classic starting Friday.