Erickson Makes History as Florida Softball Routs Stetson
No Gator has reached the 200 runs-batted in mark since Reagan Walsh in 2015, that was until Jocelyn Erickson went up to bat against Stetson in DeLand on Wednesday.
No. 5 Florida softball ended its four-game road trip with a 8-2 win against Stetson on a night where Erickson made history.
Freshman pitcher Leah Stevens got her first start since the extra-innings win against Missouri on March 8. Stevens pitched 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, one run with a strikeout. Pitcher Olivia Miller (5-0) took over in the third. She pitched two innings, allowing two hits, one run and a pair of strikeouts.
Townsen Thomas got Florida (34-4, 9-3 SEC) started in the first with an RBI single that scored Taylor Shumaker. Kenleigh Cahalan kept it going in the second with another RBI single to make it 2-0 after scoring Shumaker for her second run of the day.
The Hatters kept Florida’s offense quiet, allowing them to cut the lead to one in the third. Miller’s first pitch resulted in disaster as Amber Chumley roped it to left field for an RBI double.
In the fourth, Shumaker looked set to score her third run with a two-run homer to right field, but Gia Napoli had other plans. The senior jumped up and robbed Shumaker.
The Gators finally broke through in the fifth inning with a two-out rally. Gabi Comia got it started, reaching base on a fielding error that scored Thomas. With the bases loaded, Erickson blasted a ball to right field, scoring Cassidy McLellan and Comia, to make it a 5-1 ballgame. She became the sixth Gator to reach 200 RBIs in just three seasons in Gainesville.
Stetson (22-4) kept the pressure up, loading the bases in the fifth. The Hatters scored one off a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. Miller was relieved by Katelynn Oxley after allowing the sac fly, and the sophomore quickly got Florida out of the inning.
The Gators kept the runs coming in the sixth, an Ella Wesolowski sacrifice bunt scored Kendall Grover. Madison Walker followed it with a two-run bomb (her seventh of the season) to center field to make it 8-2.
Oxley struck two out in her first full inning, as she finished the game earning the save, allowing zero hits, with three strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
Florida now turns its focus to Game 1 of a home SEC series against No. 13 Mississippi State (32-7, 4-5) Friday at 6 p.m. (SEC Network+).
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Softball
