No. 3 Florida Softball Gets Revenge Against No. 2 Texas

The No. 3 Florida softball team got revenge on Monday night by defeating No. 2 Texas for its first time since 2012.

The Gators were knocked out of the Women’s College World Series by the Longhorns last season and dropped a doubleheader to Texas (28-2, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday. While it wasn’t the flashiest win, Florida got the job done at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium to win 3-1 and salvage the series.

struck gold #GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/2MsSY6GhfA

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) March 18, 2025

Miscues to Start

Errors plagued the Gators (28-4, 3-3) in the first two games of the series. Early in the first, it looked to be more of the same. On what should have been a routine ground ball, freshman pitcher Katelynn Oxley overthrew first base to allow the first batter of the game to reach third. The Longhorns capitalized on the mistake to score on an RBI single the next at-bat.

Luckily for Florida, Texas went no further than scraping in the one run. Unluckily, the Gators struggled to get their own offense going as Texas retired the first six Florida batters. Mia Williams was the first on base for Florida, hitting a single in the top of third.

With Williams on, the momentum was building. Freshman Gabi Comia kept it going, willing herself on base with a single. But, the Longhorns defense was not going down without a fight. They retired the next two batters and it looked like another scoreless inning for the Gators. Enter Taylor Shumaker. The freshman doubled up the left field gap, scoring both baserunners and giving Florida the lead.

https://twitter.com/GatorsSB/status/1901782226557141190

The Gators added another run in the fourth on a Williams sacrifice fly to lead the Longhorns 3-1. In the fifth, Florida was poised to add to its lead. The Gators loaded the bases with former SEC Player of the Year Jocelyn Erickson and senior Reagan Walsh due up. Feeling the pressure, Texas pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez came in clutch for her team, retiring both the Gators to finish the inning with no blood drawn.

Wrangling the Longhorns

Oxley (3-3) held strong throughout the game, battling with her off speed. She allowed just two Texas hits, a season low for the Longhorns, despite giving up five walks. She gave up a walk to start the sixth inning, prompting coach Tim Walton to bring in veteran Ava Brown. With a runner on, the Longhorns hit the ball straight back to the pitcher for what looked like a routine out. But, an off-target throw by Brown meant that two Longhorns were safely on base.

The Gators defense held strong, turning a double play to swing the momentum back to their side. Brown forced a fly out to get out of the inning. She kept it going in the seventh, retiring three straight batters to end the Longhorns’ 17-game winning streak.

https://twitter.com/GatorsSB/status/1901797388429164858

Takeaways

The Gators do not shy away from a fight. Even when they aren’t power hitting, they can move runners over and bring them home. The defense can be cleaned up, especially behind a Rothrockless bullpen. But, most of the miscues against the Longhorns were pitcher errors. The Gators did a good job all around of keeping a scary Texas lineup at bay, proving that they can hang with any team in the SEC. While they couldn’t pick up the series win, the Gators showed that they are a legit SEC contender. If they can clean up the mistakes, they will continue to be a team to watch going into further conference play and the postseason.

Up Next

Florida has one day off before heading to Jacksonville to take on Jacksonville University on Wednesday and UNF on Thursday. Both games start at 6 p.m. and are available to watch on ESPN+.