Florida’s Katelynn Oxley (39) winds up for a pitch against Stetson at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on March 25, 2026. She tossed a complete-game win Wednesday vs. USF.[Libby Clifton/WRUF]

No. 7 Florida Softball Faces In-State Rivals, FSU and USF

No. 7 Florida (16-5) has an in-state challenge ahead, traveling to Tallahassee for a matchup against No. 10 FSU (15-3) on Wednesday before facing No. 21 UCF (12-8-1) over the weekend.

The Gators are coming off a quality week after beating FGCU in a midweek showing and then taking the weekend series against Auburn. In the series against the Tigers, the Gators outscored them 16-6.

Pitcher Keagan Rothrock pitched phenomenally over the weekend, winning the games on Friday and Sunday while only allowing two earned runs in 11 ⅓ innings.

The offense has continued to hit well, too. Outfielder Taylor Shumaker is now hitting .475 on the season, while infielder Jocelyn Erickson has 67 RBIs.

Over the next week, the Gators will need these sorts of performances to take care of business against their in-state foes.

FSU

This will be Florida’s first showing of the season against FSU after losing to the school, 4-0, in 2025. The Gators beat the Seminoles in 2024, but are 1-7 in games against them since 2021.

FSU is coming off a series sweep of North Carolina this past weekend, but got swept by No. 20 Stanford the week before. The game will take place in Tallahassee at JoAnne Graf Field, where the Seminoles have a 30-2 record at home this season.

Both teams are among the top offenses in the country, as the Gators rank fourth with a 1.102 OPS and FSU ranks 12th with a 1.061 OPS. FSU’s infielder Isa Torres is one to watch, as she’s hitting .589 with 11 home runs on the season.

For Florida, expect to see Olivia Miller and/or Katelynn Oxley, who have pitched the majority of innings in the Gators’ recent midweek matchups. On the season, Miller has a 1.51 ERA in 41 ⅔ innings, while Oxley has a 4.47 ERA in 47 innings.

In midweek matchups, the Seminoles have often pitched a combination of Bella Dimitrijevic and Jazzy Francik. Dimitrijevic has a 4.36 ERA in 62 ⅔ innings, but Francik has excelled to a 2.03 ERA in 100 innings.

UCF

The Gators will play two games against the Knights this weekend, one on Friday at home and another on Saturday in Orlando.

Historically, the Gators are 6-4 against the Knights over their last ten games. In the teams’ last matchup in 2023, the Gators won 3-0.

UCF is coming off a series win at home against Kansas, where it outscored the Jayhawks 17-9 over three games.

Both teams in this matchup have a formidable offense. The Gators will look to continue their offensive tear against UCF, which has a .979 OPS, ranking 27th in the country. Utility player Kendall Yarnell is one to watch for the Knights, as she’s hitting .368 with 14 home runs on the season.

For the Gators, look to Keagan Rothrock to pitch in multiple games over the weekend, as she leads the team in innings by a landslide at 153. Over the weekend, Rothrock moved into sole possession of sixth-most wins in the history of the program at 72. Outside of Rothrock, Leah Stevens may get a start, or the aforementioned Miller or Oxley.

The Gators will try to play as well as possible down the stretch against these sorts of opponents, as the SEC tournament begins on May 5. For No. 7 Florida, the team will need to stay grounded while looking for something greater.

Category: College Softball, Gators Softball, SEC, Softball, University of Florida