Florida Softball vs. Michigan: An Early Test at USF-Rawlings Invitational

Florida softball will be spending its weekend in Tampa at the USF-Rawlings Invitational. During the course of the tournament, the Gators will have five different matchups.

The Gators started Friday night with a game against Illinois State, which they won 7-0. Six Gators recorded hits, while starter Keagan Rothrock earned the win seven strikeouts in four scoreless innings.

Not to graze over a season-opening win, but that result tracks. Florida enters this season No. 6 in the country. No other ranked team is playing in the early-season event. But Saturday’s 11:30 a.m. game against Michigan will probably be the most challenging, and it’s the third straight year the Gators play the Wolverines in the tournament.

And if the rematch is a repeat of last year, Florida should come out on top. The team swept the tournament with wins over each of the five other participants.

Three of the victories a year ago were the result of the NCAA mercy rule, which bodes well for Florida’s prospects again this year. For context, the rule can end a game at the fifth or any later inning if one team leads by eight or more runs. Michigan was one of the few that lost in that manner, with a final score of 13-1 in five innings. 

The Gators also entered the invitational with three players listed in the 2026 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List: Jocelyn Erickson, Taylor Shumaker and Rothrock. 

Erickson enters the season as the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner at catcher for the second year in a row. She was also ranked second in Caught Stealing By for the SEC last season.

Rothrock was Florida’s leader in innings pitched, strikeouts and complete games a year ago. A year earlier, as a freshman, she ranked first nationally in multiple categories, such as games started, wins and innings pitched.  

Schumaker holds her own litany of honors from her freshman season, including 2025 All-SEC first-team honors while winning 2025 Freshman of the Year via the NFCA and Softball America. Nationally, she was tied for second in RBIs with 86. 

Following its matchup with Michigan on Saturday, Florida will take on Bethune-Cookman at 4:30 p.m. shortly thereafter, and it will face Kansas at 12 p.m. and South Florida at 2:35 p.m. on Sunday.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Softball, Softball