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After a couple of sluggish performances against SEC opponents, the Florida Gators broke out on offense in a big way on Saturday.
The Gators’ eight-run eighth inning sparked a 14-3 victory at No. 19 Ole Miss to secure the series win. It marks their second consecutive series victory against the Rebels.
Florida Hitting Party
Entering the series, Ole Miss’ (30-11, 6-8 SEC) greatest strength was its pitching, boasting a collective 2.39 ERA. However, the Gators (37-8, 9-5) were able to break through the Rebels’ rotation for the second consecutive game.
Florida scored 14 against senior Aliyah Binford, who had previously been undefeated in 2025.
The slugfest started with Kenleigh Cahalan, who gave her team the lead with a three-run dinger in the second frame. Jocelyn Erickson then followed Cahalan’s blast with a home run of her own, her 12th of the season to extend Florida’s lead to 5-2.
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The Gators never looked back after that.
Both teams added a run to make the score 6-3 going into the seventh— and that’s when Florida broke the game wide open.
Cahalan got the Gators’ offense rolling with a drive to center field that scored Mia Williams. The lineup continued to rally with a barrage of hits, stringing three consecutive doubles to plate multiple runs. The damage was capped by Korbe Otis, who crushed a no-doubter to the field, bringing in two more runs to make it 14-3 and put the game out of reach.
Of the 11 batters who stepped to the plate for UF, seven had hits and five had multi-hit games. Cahalan was the standout star in the lineup. She notched her first game with three or more hits since the Gators’ tilt against Troy on March 1.
Meanwhile, Taylor Shumaker plated three runners, setting a school record for most RBIs by a freshman with 61.
Rebound In Circle
The series against Arkansas was one to forget for the Gators’ pitching staff.
Florida allowed 15 runs across 23 innings for an ERA of 5.87 in the circle — a far from ideal performance for a rotation that is supposed to be elite. Some of those struggles carried over into the series opener against Ole Miss, where sophomore pitcher Keagan Rothrock had to be bailed out by her offense.
Ava Brown (10-1) rebounded with a strong performance Saturday. Though Rylee Holtorf’s throwing error in the first inning resulted in two unearned runs for Ole Miss, Brown pitched through it. She threw in all seven innings and limited Ole Miss to just one earned run, with the Rebels unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
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Though Brown allowed 10 hits, only one of those came with extra bases. She consistently pitched her way out of trouble, maintaining control throughout the game.
Takeaways
The Gators’ victory served as a timely bounce-back for both the offense and pitching staff, providing a much-needed boost after their series loss against Arkansas.
Florida reasserted its identity with a dynamic offense and a reliable rotation that can dominate on the mound.
Looking Ahead
The Gators look for the sweep against the Rebels on Sunday. They play at 2 p.m. SEC Network+ is broadcasting the game.
