No. 9 Florida softball dropped its second-to-last game of the 2026 regular season to SEC rival No. 13 Georgia, 10-9. The Bulldogs walked off the Gators after a seven-run fifth inning.
Olivia Miller started for the Gators (47-8, 17-6 SEC) and earned her first loss of the year Friday night. Miller not only started in the circle for Florida, but finished the game in the seventh after being relieved at the beginning of the fifth.
Both sides got runs on the board early, with each team scoring two in the first.
Ava Brown picked up her first RBI of the game, drawing a bases-loaded walk to bring in fellow captain Jocelyn Erickson, who also walked. Cassidy McLellan followed with a bases-loaded single, scoring Townsen Thomas.
Miller’s two runs allowed in the first matched the total she had given up in her previous four starts. She surrendered a leadoff double to Georgia second baseman Keirstin Roose, who later scored on another Bulldog double, this time off the bat of Sarah Gordon.
Gordon crossed home as Georgia collected its third hit of the inning to tie the game at two apiece.
The Gators added on over the next two innings to build a five-run lead.
Four consecutive Florida hitters reached base, highlighted by Thomas’ bases-loaded single that brought in two more runs. Brown added an RBI single, and two runs scored on the play as Georgia center fielder Natalie Ray committed an error.
Miller pitched a clean bottom of the second before the offense went back to work quickly. Madison Walker led off the third with her eighth home run of the season, a solo shot.
Despite giving up back-to-back singles to start the third, Miller settled in and worked through two more innings before being relieved by Brown.
It had been just over two months since Brown last pitched in a game, and she showed some rust. Brown allowed four hits, two runs and recorded one strikeout, but the outing provided valuable live action for both her and head coach Tim Walton’s staff as they evaluate postseason options.
That opened the door for Georgia’s comeback. The Bulldogs would face three more Florida pitchers in the inning. Katelynn Oxley faced one batter and issued a walk, while Allison Sparkman and Keagan Rothrock each allowed hits. Georgia scored seven runs on seven hits and an error to take a 9-7 lead.
Walker led off the seventh with a single through the right side. Graduate student catcher Giulia Desiderio pinch-hit for Gabi Comia and delivered, tying the game with her first home run of the season. The two-run shot to left was followed by three consecutive outs from the top of Florida’s lineup.
Miller returned to finish what she started but came up short. A fielding error and a double put runners in scoring position for Jaydyn Goodwin, who delivered the walk-off single for the Bulldogs.
The loss sets up a regular-season finale rubber match on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for noon. With a win, the Gators would secure their seventh SEC series victory of the 2026 season.
