No. 5 Florida Softball Clinches Series Against No. 1 Tennessee

One of the best hitters in the country against one of the best pitchers in the country, Taylor Shumaker vs. Karlyn Pickens.

Shumaker got the home crowd at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on its feet with a leadoff home run to give the Gators an early lead with her 13th home run of the season.

The sophomore’s heroics didn’t stop there as No. 5 Florida took the series victory against No. 1 Tennessee with a 3-2 win Sunday.

“For me as a hitter, I’ve always been taught not to make the moment too big, not to make anything bigger than it has to be,” Shumaker said. “I believe that with the coaching staff I have and the great hitters I have around me, that if I’m at my best, that nobody can really beat me.”

This is the program’s second series win against a top-ranked opponent, its first coming in 2025 against Oklahoma.

“I don’t like to put too much weight into teams because as soon as you put too much on a top-ranked team or not enough on an unranked team, then you get beat,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. 

Keagan Rothrock got the nod in the circle for Florida (31-2, 8-1 SEC) against Tennessee (28-3, 6-3). It was a premier pitching battle headlined by two of the SEC’s best.

Rothrock (17-2) pitched her 10th complete game of the season and allowed five hits, two runs with four strikeouts.

After Shumaker’s homer, both infields began trading double plays in the first two innings to shut down the offenses. Pickens (7-2) and Rothrock also went at it, both striking out key batters.

Both offenses stayed quiet until the Gators got it going in the fifth. Pickens drew two uncharacteristic walks to put runners on scoring position. Cassidy McLellan scored off a wild pitch to make it 2-0 and Shumaker continued her hot streak with an RBI single to score Gabi Comia to make it 3-0.

The Lady Vols made a call to the bullpen after the fifth-inning rally, ending Pickens day in the circle for the fresh arm of Sage Mardjetko. Pickens allowed three runs, four hits, five walks and struck out five. 

Tennessee proved it won’t back down without a fight, on two outs in the sixth, Gabby Leach blasted a ball that bounced off the right-field pole. The two-run homer brought the Lady Vols within one, at 3-2.

With all to play for in the seventh, Tennessee didn’t make it easy for Florida. McLellan could not collect a fly ball due to the wind, allowing Elsa Morrsion to reach second. The freshman made it to third on a ground-ball out.

Rothrock proved why she is one of the best in the SEC, striking out Makenzie Butt. In the final at-bat, Tennessee’s Maddi Rutan connected with a ball, but Shumaker made the catch in right field to give the Gators the series victory.

“It’s remembering who I am and throwing my game and making sure that I’m attacking the way that I know how,” Rothrock said. 

Florida turns its attention to a midweek bout with Stetson (19-13) at KSP at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Softball