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National third seed Florida was not leaving anything to chance in the NCAA Gainesville Regional by winning all three of its games in run-rule fashion for the first time in program history.
Florida sophomore Ava Brown hit a three-run home run and junior Jocelyn Erickson knocked in a pair of runs with a double Sunday to again beat Mercer 8-0 via the eight-run mercy rule at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. UF (46-14) defeated Mercer 8-0 on Friday and Florida Atlantic 14-6 on Saturday.
“To see the runs we score and how we played, it’s very refreshing to know we can come out and compete in a tournament like this and turn the page to the next opponent,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “That’s not easy to do. I have said this quite a few times: We’re a tough matchup in a tournament. Really tough. That benefits us a little bit.
“Head to head, in a three-game series, obviously we’ve done very well with that during the year, but tournament style? We’re a tough, tough matchup because our lineup is pretty good.”
Keagan Rothrock (14-5) also dominated in the circle by allowing just one hit and striking out six over her 4.1 innings. She was relieved by sophomore Olivia Miller for the final two outs in the the bottom of the fifth.
The Gators will now host Georgia in the Super Regional (Times, dates TBA until all regional games are completed). The Bulldogs (34-21) upset No. 14-seed Duke at the Durham Regional. It will be the first meeting this season for the SEC rivals. The Super Regional winners advance to the Women’s College World Series on May 29-June 6 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
“It’s what these kids came here for,” Walton said. “For the opportunity to compete for championships. We had some really good performances this weekend.”
Brown’s 10th home run of the season gives the Gators a program-record six different player with double-digit homers in the same season. The others: Taylor Shumaker (21), Mia Williams (19), Erickson (15), Reagan Walsh (13) and Kenleigh Cahalan (10).
