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The No. 10 Florida Gators softball team beat the No. 5 LSU Tigers 6-5 in eight innings Monday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Gators (34-6, 9-3 SEC) were down 5-1 in the sixth inning, but came back and won off a throwing error on a Skylar Wallace strikeout.
SERIES CLINCHED 🔒#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/pikS5aIYXd
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 9, 2024
Slow Start for the Gators
After the Gators opened the scoring with an RBI walk in the first inning from Katie Kistler, the Gators could not get any runs across until the bottom of the sixth inning.
LSU pitching shut the Gators down for the early part of the game. Raelin Chaffin and Sydney Berzon (14-3) pitched for LSU. The Gators had one run through five innings. The Gators struck out seven times, which was half of their total on Sunday.
LSU Strikes in the Fifth
Keagan Rothrock was cruising through four innings for Florida, but she struggled in the fifth. She gave up three runs in the inning and five total. She gave up eight hits and struck out one batter.
Maddox McKee opened the scoring for the Tigers (31-6, 9-6) with a base hit to tie the game. Ali Newland then hit a two-run home run to give LSU a 3-1 lead in the fifth. A Ciara Briggs two-run double in the top of the sixth put LSU up 5-1.
🔺5 | Ali ROCKED that one!
LSU takes the lead behind @ali44newland's third hit of the game!
📺 SECN [https://t.co/Li1LOlrugv] pic.twitter.com/CvO9RLj476
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) April 9, 2024
Florida’s Resilience
Facing a 5-1 deficit in the sixth, the Gators battled back in this inning to tie the game. Ava Brown reached on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-2. With two outs and the bases loaded, Kendra Falby hit a bases-clearing triple on the first pitch she saw to make it 5-5.
GAME TYING TRIPLE!
Turn us up, @kendrafalby 🗣️
📺 SEC Network | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/GTLDpUjAfi
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 9, 2024
Falby said this team can make comebacks like this because they are a family:
Ava Brown Comes in Relief
After the Gators tied the game in the sixth, Brown (14-2) came in and pitched the final two innings. She gave up one hit and struck out one batter.
Catcher Jocelyn Erickson said Brown is a fighter:
The Winning Play
In the bottom of the eighth, the Gators had runners on second and third with two outs. Skylar Wallace stepped to the plate with the game on the line. Even though she struck out, her hustle down the line helped cause the game-winning and series-clinching throwing error. The Gators have won all of the SEC series they have played.
THAT'S THE GAME!!!
📺 SEC Network | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/xLQKyhVzzb
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 9, 2024
UF coach Tim Walton credited Wallace’s hustle:
Up Next
The Gators take on the visiting South Florida Bulls Wednesday at 6 p.m., and it will be televised on SEC Network+.
