In the top of the fourth inning, Florida had a commanding 4-0 lead on Mercer, but it wasn’t satisfied.
Sophomore pitcher Ava Brown stepped up to the plate, and sent a three-run shot over the left field fence to give the Gators a 7-0 advantage.
From there, it was smooth sailing as the No. 3-seeded Florida Gators (46-14) defeated the Mercer Bears (40-26) 8-0 in five innings to advance to the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals.
This was Florida’s third straight run-rule victory and marked the first time in program history it won every regional game via run-rule.
“To see the runs that we scored and how we played, it's very refreshing to know that we can come out and compete in a tournament like this,” Florida head coach Tim Walton said.
The Gators got things going early in the first inning, loading the bases before sophomore second baseman Mia Williams brought in the first run of the game on a single.
UF continued where it left off in the second inning when junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson hit a two-run double down the right side of the field to extend the lead to three runs.
Then in the third inning, junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan hit a single to add another run.
Brown then sent her long-ball over the fence, extending Florida's led to 7-0.
In the fifth inning, senior first baseman Reagan Walsh recorded the game winning run on a sacrifice fly, which scored senior outfielder Kendra Falby.
Sophomore pitcher Keagan Rothrock got the start for the Gators after giving up six runs Saturday. She had an excellent outing Sunday, pitching a four-inning shutout while posting six strikeouts and only surrendering one hit.
“Keagan throws a shutout today, which was good to see,” Walton said. “That's one thing that I've been telling our staff… the more Keagan pitches, the better she gets.”
Sophomore pitcher Olivia Miller replaced Rothrock in the bottom of the fifth inning to capture the final two outs of the game.
“She pitched every day this week in our scrimmage stuff and did a really good job as well,” Walton said about the lefty pitcher.
Florida will look to advance to the Women's College World Series for the second year in a row and will face either Duke or Georgia in the first round of the Super Regionals.
Contact Casey Godwin Godcasey11@gmail.com. Follow him on X @Godcasey5UF.
