Florida softball stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with an opportunity to deliver a thrilling walk-off victory after a back-and-forth affair all game long.
However, LSU sophomore closer Sydney Berzon struck out three straight batters in a row and silenced the Florida fans while knotting the series at one game apiece.
No. 10 Florida (33-6, 8-3 SEC) fell to the No. 5 LSU Tigers (31-5, 9-5 SEC) 4-3 after a tightly contested extra-inning affair at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, Sunday.
“I don’t really feel like there was a turn in the game,” senior shortstop Skylar Wallace said. “You know that game was a really good representation of what can happen in sports. Some days you go out there and you have your best stuff and you lose.”
Florida took the field with a chance to capture its fourth-straight series victory in SEC play in front of a packed crowd at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium where the Gators have lost just one game all season.
However, UF’s chances of taking down LSU looked unlikely through three innings after graduate student starting pitcher Kelley Lynch was dealing on the mound, holding UF hitless.
LSU capitalized on Lynch’s solid start and tallied two runs in the first three innings. Florida fans have received positive contributions from their freshman starters on the mound this year but it was a shaky start for freshman Ava Brown.
The UF starter allowed an RBI double to sophomore catcher Maci Bergeron in the second inning, and another double from graduate student Raeleen Gutierrez scored one more run in the third inning to give LSU a 2-0 advantage.
“I allowed too many hard barrels,” Brown said. “But they were making adjustments to me as well, so just being able to expand the zone while also not allowing myself to continue to get behind in counts were I think probably the main adjustments I needed to make.”
But Brown, who came into Sunday’s game with a sub-three ERA, kept her poise on the bump and collected herself before dealing three-straight scoreless innings while allowing just two hits.
Florida has shown the ability to grind out victories, proving to be one of the more gritty teams in the SEC, and another opportunity to show their toughness presented itself.
Brown’s steadiness gave Florida a chance to bridge the gap in the bottom of the fourth inning, as junior outfield Korbe Otis stepped to the plate and ripped a leadoff single to left field that ignited a spark for UF’s offense and ended Lynch’s no-hitter.
The versatility of Brown’s game was put on display at the plate in the fourth inning after sending a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Otis and shrunk the LSU lead to 2-1.
Otis continued to provide momentum in the next inning with another big-time single down the right-field line to score junior outfielder Kendra Falby, knotting the game at two apiece.
Brown halted LSU’s offensive production after leaving several runners on base throughout the middle innings, allowing the Gators to hang around for a chance to take their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth.
“They were barreling up some balls that were even like two balls off the plate,” Brown said. “I lost my changeup for a few moments but I started to get it back so being able to keep them guessing and then mix in a screw and a rise to kind of change their eye levels was really the only adjustment we needed.”
Florida head coach Tim Walton decided to shake up his batting order as the game began to come down the stretch.
Walton turned to junior pinch hitter Brooke Barnard in the bottom of the sixth, who entered the game with a sub-300 batting average but delivered the most clutch hit of the game. She crushed a double to right field that one-hopped the wall and erupted the home crowd.
UF was three outs away from earning a weekend series victory, but the Tigers refused to go down without a fight.
Down to its last three outs, LSU played a bit of small ball to knot the score after a bunt from graduate student outfielder Ciara Briggs set up the game-tying double to right center field from Raeleen Gutierrez in the top of the seventh inning.
It was far from freshman pitcher Keagan Rothrock’s best outing while trying to close out the Tigers en route to a potential fifth-straight victory for the Gators.
After allowing the game-tying hit to send the contest into extras, Rothrock’s struggles continued in the eighth inning, allowing three hits and the go-ahead run which proved to be the difference in LSU’s ability to knot the series at 1-1. A rubber match will come on Monday between the two squads.
“I think we really got to focus on how we can get better,” Wallace said. “We know LSU and other teams are good but it’s just kind of refocusing and regathering information and improving on what we can do.”
First pitch for Game 3 between Florida and LSU will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1.
Max Tucker is a junior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time. Max will be covering the Gators Golf teams this Fall for The Alligator.
