After two thrillers to take the series against Missouri, No. 5 Florida (26-1, 3-0 SEC) softball completed the sweep in his SEC-opening series against Missouri (7-16, 0-3) with a 5-2 victory Monday.
The win marked the Gators’ first SEC home series sweep in two years, since sweeping Texas A&M in 2024.
Junior pitcher Keagan Rothrock got the starting job in the circle once again after tossing a complete game in Saturday’s series opener with an SEC career-high 10 batters.
Rothrock (14-1) pitched her seventh complete game of the season Monday, allowing four hits and two runs, with two strikeouts.
With the loss of Ava Brown, the Gators bullpen has been down a player. Rothrock stepped up in Brown’s absence to become the first Florida pitcher to win all three games in an SEC series since Hannah Rogers in 2011.
“It sucks not to have Ava, but we acknowledge that and we’re continuing to work as a staff … doing what we are supposed to do,” Rothrock said.
The Gators were quiet until sophomore outfielder Taylor Shumaker walked to load the bases in the second inning. Senior catcher Jocelyn Erickson, who has been on fire throughout the series, got Florida on the board with a bases-clearing RBI single to give Florida a 3-0 lead.
While the Gators’ offense has been one of the best in the country, the defense has been just as dominant. Second baseman Gabi Comia hustled to convert a tricky play at first to end the top of the third, and third baseman Kendall Grover caught the Tigers off guard, turning a double play in the fourth.
“I’ve been very impressed … one key is everything we do out there, we do in practice,” Florida coach Tim Walton said about his infield. “I’m just really happy that you can take what you do in practice and execute it in the game.”
With a runner on base in the fourth, Shumaker kissed a ball goodnight on two-run homer to right field for a 5-0 lead and her 11th homer of the season.
Florida’s defense shut out Missouri until the seventh inning, when Tigers designated hitter Abby Carr hit a two-run single down to cut the lead to three.
The Gators did not falter behind Rothrock, who got them out of the jam to secure the sweep.
Florida (26-1) returns in action Friday, as it travels to Kentucky to face the Wildcats (19-6) for its first away SEC series.
