No. 3 Gators Softball Mercy-Rules Troy, Western Michigan

With clear blue skies and bright yellow sunflowers weaved into their hair, the Florida Gators swept the Saturday doubleheader of the Florida Invitational.

Florida run-ruled the Troy Trojans 11-2, then pulled off the same feat against the Western Michigan Broncos, 10-2.

Game One: Troy

Troy is one of two teams the Gators (22-1) played against this invitational with a winning record, the other being Samford.

That didn’t matter to Kenleigh Cahalan.

After the Gators loaded the bases, Cahalan launched one to right field for her second grand slam of the year. Not to be outdone, Mia Williams followed with a homer of her own on the very next at-bat. Troy pitcher Esmee Ames‘s day was finished in just the first inning.

Florida has scored in the first frame in 17 of 22 games this season. It has become a part of the Gators’ identity to pour cold water over their opponents and snuff out any momentum before it can even start, and that’s what happened here. Though Troy managed to bring home two, Florida mostly stifled the Trojans through a combination of good pitching and fielding.

The Gators flirted with the run-rule limit all game long, but Troy held strong until the sixth inning, when Reagan Walsh launched a homer to extend the lead to six. Just a few at-bats later, Ava Brown sealed the game with a three-run shot to left field for the walk-off.

https://twitter.com/GatorsSB/status/1895913192033042786

Cahalan was Florida’s clear MVP, going a flawless 4-for-4 with four RBI. 

Game Two: Western Michigan

A first-inning grand slam and a sixth-inning home run, followed by an Brown walk-off hit. Sound familiar?

The Gators hit copy-paste for the second game of the twin bill, dismantling Western Michigan in almost the same way they had defeated the Trojans.

The only difference was that it was Florida that found itself in a hole early. Riley Chumbley took advantage of a weak pitch by Brown to hit a two-run homer, leaving both the team and home crowd stunned as she rounded the bases.

However, that was as far as Western Michigan got. Florida responded in the latter half of the inning by loading the bases, chasing the starting pitcher out of the circle for the second game in a row. Then, just like Cahalan against Troy, Walsh blasted one over the heads of the Broncos’ outfielders for a grand slam— 5-2, Florida.

https://twitter.com/GatorsSB/status/1895918807279100287

After that, it was easy sailing for the Gators. Though Brown had an uncharacteristically shaky game, allowing two runs on six hits, Florida’s batters gave her enough run support for it not to matter. Walsh went yard once again in the fourth inning for three homers on the day, and Jocelyn Erickson continued her hot-streak with a deep shot of her own in the sixth.

Takeaways

The Gators have mercy-ruled 15 of their 23 opponents this season, and have won in shortened innings in every game of the Florida Invitational — pure offensive dominance.

Every player down the lineup is contributing. Taylor Shumaker had a quiet day, going 1-for-8, but it didn’t even matter — that kind of depth will be crucial going into SEC play.

Up Next

The Gators finish out the Florida Invitational on Sunday with a match-up against FAMU. The game starts at 2 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.