Looking to defend its title as SEC tournament champion, No. 6-seeded Florida took the field at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on Friday.
UF’s hunt for back-to-back tournament titles came to an end when it was eliminated by No. 11-seeded Mississippi 6-3.
Untimely hitting was Florida’s undoing in the second round of the SEC tournament. It left 15 runners stranded on the day. Ole Miss senior pitcher Brianna Lopez put on a show against the Gators. A mix of offspeed pitches created a challenge for Florida’s hitters. Neither team scored until the third inning.
Sophomore pitcher Keagan Rothrock got the start for the Gators. She recorded two strikeouts through five innings and surrendered a three-run homer in the third.
The Rebels took out Lopez in the top of the fourth and was replaced with senior pitcher Aliyah Binford.
Sophomore pitcher Ava Brown replaced Rothrock in the top of the fifth inning and kept the Rebels’ offense in check, giving up one hit while tallying a strikeout.
The Gators fell behind at the top of the third inning as Rothrock gave up a three-run shot to Ole Miss freshman first baseman Persy Llamas. Florida senior first baseman Reagan Walsh responded by driving in a run on a sacrifice hit to bring the score to 3-1 in the third.
From there, both offenses stalled for multiple innings as neither team could add to the scoreboard.
A timely seventh inning rally woke the Gators up. In the bottom of the seventh inning, junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson and freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game 3-3.
With the game in extra innings, Ole Miss brought Lopez back into the game.
In the top of the eighth inning, Brown put two runners on base and gave up a three-run homer to freshman Mackenzie Pickens, giving the Rebels a 6-3 advantage. Lopez and Binford both contributed to the dominant pitching performance by Ole Miss as they combined for eight strikeouts while giving up three runs.
The Gators will resume play in the regional round of the Women’s College World Series. Selections will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
Contact Casey Godwin Godcasey11@gmail.com. Follow him on X @Godcasey5UF
