Florida Softball Faces Familiar Foe in Game Two of NCAA Regional
A familiar opponent stands between Florida softball and a commanding position in the Gainesville Regional at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Gators will face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Saturday at 10 a.m. after opening the 2026 Gainesville Regional by rattling off a 12-0 run rule victory over Florida A&M on Friday.
Later in the day, the Yellow Jackets had a close fight against the Texas State Bobcats in a 2-1 win. In the win, Georgia Tech scored the winning run off a passed ball in the top of the sixth and behind the arm of right-handed pitcher Madalyn Johnson (14-12), who tossed a complete game.
“Whatever team we play, it doesn’t really matter, because we are going to be prepared for them,” Florida catcher Jocelyn Erickson said postgame Friday.
The Gators and Yellow Jackets are no strangers to each other, playing twice this season in the Florida Classic. Their first matchup, on Feb. 13, was a close 8-5 Gators victory. Tied at 5 in the bottom of the sixth, the Gators rattled off three runs. In their second matchup, the Yellow Jackets kept it close at 2-1 in the fifth, before the Gators would again have a three-run rally to close out the game and capture the Florida Classic.
In the regular season, Georgia Tech went 4-17 against ranked opponents, not including Florida.
On Friday in the 2026 Gainesville Regional, Georgia Tech was ranked the third-best team out of four. After its win over Texas State, ranked second, it proved deserving.
The key to Saturday’s game will be pitching.
Florida’s bullpen was shaky entering Friday’s game against FAMU, but pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only a single hit.
“Just pitch; don’t worry about I shouldn’t, I can’t, I won’t, I don’t, I am,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “Just go out there and do it.”
The strength of the pitching staff comes from right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock (27-6), who is tied for 30th in the nation in strikeouts (172) and 20th in innings pitched (184.1).
Florida’s pitching staff has a 2.81 ERA, which is top 25 in the nation, compared to Georgia Tech’s 3.80 ERA.
The inexperience of Georgia Tech’s pitching staff may play a role on Saturday. Johnson pitched in her first NCAA Tournament game Friday against Texas State, while the rest of the staff has never pitched in the NCAA tournament.
In comparison, every Florida pitcher has played in an NCAA tournament game, including freshman Leah Stevens, who got her first game under her belt Friday against FAMU.
At the plate, the Gators are fifth in the nation in hits (561), seventh in batting average (.355), eighth in home runs (100) and 10th in runs (445).
The Gators lineup is headlined by Taylor Shumaker and Jocelyn Erickson, both of whom are the only current Gators with a batting average above .400. Shumaker is also first in the SEC in hits with 88, and Erickson is second in the SEC in RBIs.
Against FAMU, Shumaker hit the Gators’ 100th home run of the season, the third year in a row the Gators have reached that mark. She also scored three runs, which puts her second in program history in runs in a season with 84. Erickson went 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored against the Rattlers.
The Yellow Jackets are 37th in the nation in hits (474) and tied for 37th in home runs (73), led by another duo in Alyssa Willer and Gracyn Tucker. They are two of four players on Georgia Tech who have a batting average above .350.
Willer and Tucker accounted for the Yellow Jackets’ two hits against Texas State on Friday, with Tucker driving in Willer for Georgia Tech’s first run.
If history stays true, there will be a close game Saturday in Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
“We have a team that needs to focus on tomorrow, the most important game of the season,” Walton said.
Category: College Softball, Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Softball
