Florida Softball Survives Auburn Slugfest in SEC Tournament Win
No. 3 Florida softball is still alive in the SEC Tournament.
The Gators overcame a three-run deficit to hold on for a 10-9 win over No. 14 seed Auburn on Thursday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. With the victory, Florida advances to face the winner of No. 7 Arkansas and No. 2 Alabama.
Florida ace Keagan Rothrock got the start in the circle — exactly one year after her previous SEC Tournament appearance, when she pitched four innings in a loss to Ole Miss — and tossed four innings, allowing four hits and four runs while striking out four batters.
The Gators bats were productive early, recording two hits off Auburn pitcher Ella Harrison in the first inning, but Taylor Shumaker and Ava Brown were both left on base.
The conference foes followed with nearly identical second innings, each hitting a leadoff solo homer before going down in order. Ma’Nia Womack went deep to left for the Tigers, while Kendall Grover answered with a home run for Florida.
The bats stayed hot on both sides in the third. Auburn scored three runs on two hits against Rothrock and left the bases loaded. After a walk, a single and a hit-by-pitch, Rothrock faced AnnaLea Adams, who delivered a bases-clearing double to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead. Townsen Thomas ended the inning with a highlight-reel play in left field, reaching over her shoulder to snag a hit off the bat of Auburn catcher Ava Ratliff.
Florida responded in the bottom half. Shumaker sparked the rally with a single through the right side and later scored on a double by Thomas.
The Gators added two more runs as Auburn allowed a passed ball and committed an error. Grover then broke the tie with her second hit of the game, an RBI single down the left-field line to give Florida a 5-4 lead.
Rothrock’s start ended in the fourth as Olivia Miller took over in the circle. Miller allowed three consecutive Auburn singles and one run, setting up another back-and-forth stretch.
Florida regained the lead in the bottom half when Jocelyn Erickson reached after Auburn shortstop Alyssa Hastings just missed a pop fly, allowing Gabi Comia to score and make it 6-5.
Miller opened the sixth by allowing a walk and a single, putting two runners on for Adams. The first baseman capitalized again, launching a three-run homer to center — her second three-RBI hit of the day.
Coach Tim Walton turned to Katelynn Oxley, who allowed Auburn to load the bases before Leah Stevens entered and retired both batters she faced to limit further damage.
Trailing by two in the sixth, Florida answered quickly. Shumaker once again led off the inning with a single, and Erickson followed with a two-run homer. The blast tied the game at eight and moved Erickson into a tie for fourth in program history in home runs.
Grover stayed hot, driving in the go-ahead run with a single to left. The Gators added an insurance run on another single to left, this time from Ella Wesoloski, extending the lead to 10-8.
Needing three outs to stay in the tournament, Rothrock reentered the circle. She retired the first two batters and got ahead in the count on the third before allowing a solo shot to Adams, who finished with a record-setting seven RBIs, the most in a single game in SEC Tournament history. Womack struck out looking at a 1-2 pitch to seal the Gators victory.
Category: College Softball, Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Softball
