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The No. 4 national seed Florida Gators softball team lost to the unseeded Baylor Bears 5-2 on Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium to even the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional 1-1.
The Bears (36-22) used a strong pitching performance from RyLee Crandall and a three-run home run from Shaylon Govan to beat the Gators (50-13) and force a deciding Game 3 at 2 p.m. Sunday.
Back in action tomorrow at 2pm. #GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/Tpz5GsoNLd
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 25, 2024
Bears Cruise Along
In the bottom of the first, Baylor came out swinging again. This time the Bears were able to do more damage on the scoreboard.
Emily Hott walked and Presleigh Pilon singled to provide Govan two runners on base. She hit a three-run home run (her 11th) to left-center field to give the Bears an early 3-0 lead.
Florida starter Keagan Rothrock (29-7) exited the game after the home run, but Ava Brown was able to come in and keep the damage to three runs.
After the Gators got a run back in the second on a Reagan Walsh home run, a wild pitch from Brown in the bottom of the second inning made it 4-1 Bears.
In the bottom of the sixth, Pilon hit a RBI sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
Brown finished with six innings pitched and gave up two runs on five hits. She struck out three batters and walked two.
“She did a really good job, kept us close where we felt like we had a chance to compete and win the game,” UF coach Tim Walton said.
Shaylon GoYard 😮💨#SicEm | #andONE pic.twitter.com/8axejUMPlA
— Baylor Softball (@BaylorSoftball) May 25, 2024
Gators Struggle
Crandall (17-8) was able to contain the Gators lineup in a complete-game effort and put an end to Florida’s 12-game winning streak. She pitched seven innings of two-run softball with six strikeouts. She gave up five hits and two walks.
The Gators’ first run came in the top of the second off Walsh’s solo home run (her 17th) to make it 3-1.
After the Bears made it 4-1, Skylar Wallace hit a RBI single in the top of the fifth to make it 4-2.
“I just think we got out of our mindsets and our approaches a little bit, ” Wallace said.
✈️@ReaganWalsh17 responds with a home run!
📺 ESPN | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/jErRx6DjmU
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 25, 2024
Up Next
The winner of Game 3 advances to the eight-team Women’s College World Series. The Gators can clinch a berth in Oklahoma City for a 12th time.
Game 3 will be televised on ESPN+ and air on ESPN 98.1 -FM/850-AM WRUF. The winner will play the winner of the Stillwater (Okla.) Super Regional between fifth national seed Oklahoma State (46-10) and unseated Arizona (35-17-1) on Thursday. OSU takes a 1-0 lead into Game 2 later Saturday.
