The No. 3 Florida Gators used their entire pitching staff in Wednesday’s 3-2 midweek victory against the Stetson Hatters. It marked the first time coach Tim Walton has done so since the Gators’ loss to UCLA in February.
The Hatters came out of the dugout swinging against Florida starting pitcher Katelynn “Red” Oxley. The sophomore gave up a leadoff single followed by a two-run homer, putting Stetson ahead after just two batters.
Taylor Shumaker drew a walk and Jocelyn Erickson added to her hit total with a single, but the Gators were unable to push a run across.
Allison Sparkman entered the circle in the second and allowed three hits over three innings, but with help from her defense she kept the Hatters off the scoreboard.
Florida tied the game at 2-2 in the third inning after Shumaker singled up the middle, and Erickson drove her home with her first triple of the season.
Leah Stevens came out of the bullpen in the fifth. Her first five pitches missed the zone, resulting in a walk and a hit-by-pitch to the first two batters she faced, but Gabby David grounded into a double play and Logan Forman struck out swinging to end the threat.
Erickson continued to be one of the Gators’ most impactful players, delivering a fifth-inning RBI double that left her a home run short of the cycle.
It was Olivia Miller’s turn to face the Hatters after Stevens left the circle in the sixth. Miller struck out three of the six batters she faced over 1 1/3 innings of work.
Despite that, Walton turned to ace Keagan Rothrock after one out in the seventh.
“I trust in our defense and everything, and I trust in Keagan 1,000%, so I knew it was the right choice,” Miller said. “We work together so well that we know whoever goes in behind us has our back.”
After allowing a hit-by-pitch and a single, Rothrock sealed the win with back-to-back strikeouts to earn the save.
As a catcher, Erickson enjoyed working with the entire pitching staff in one game.
“It’s not really difficult for me to switch between pitcher and pitcher because I know what they throw, I know how to catch them and I feel like I know their ticks and what makes them work,” Erickson said. “It was actually really fun for me to catch all of them in one game. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.”
The Gators travel to Fayetteville this weekend for a three-game series against No. 10 Arkansas seeking their fourth straight SEC series win.
