The air was filled with anticipation under the overcast skies at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on Thursday. The No. 7 Florida Gators were hosting the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners, which is the second time in program history and the first since 2007 Florida has hosted the top-ranked team.
Just like its previous meeting against the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Florida didn’t defeat the Sooners Thursday. The Sooners loaded the bases in the top of the ninth on Florida sophomore pitcher Ava Brown off singles by sophomore designated player Ella Parker, redshirt freshman third baseman Nelly McEnroe-Marinas and junior second baseman Aliana Agbayani.
Two at-bats later, on a 1-1 pitch, junior left fielder Abigayle Dayton lifted a single into center field to give the Sooners the lead, the final blow in the contest.
Oklahoma (43-5, 17-5 SEC) used the go-ahead single to defeat Florida (41-13, 12-10 SEC) in the series opener in nine innings 6-5.
Oklahoma started the scoring on Florida sophomore starting pitcher Keagan Rothrock in the top of the second. With one out in the inning, junior second baseman Aliana Agbayani recorded the first hit of the contest with a single. After Agbayani stole second two at-bats later, junior left fielder Abigayle Dayton hit an RBI double to right center field on a full-count pitch to open the scoring.
The Sooners added onto their lead in the top of the third inning. Sophomore right fielder Kasidi Pickering hit a solo home run to left field on a 1-0 pitch for her 14th blast of the season.
Florida responded on Oklahoma senior starting pitcher Sam Landry (18-3). With one out, Florida freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker was hit by a pitch, and senior left fielder Korbe Otis made UF’s first hit of the contest to put two runners on the bases.
Junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson hit a ground ball to Oklahoma first baseman Sydney Barker, who missed the throw to second base and allowed Shumaker to score. Senior first baseman Reagan Walsh followed with a ground-ball RBI single to center field on a 0-2 pitch to tie the score. Two at-bats later, Erickson scored on a wild pitch by Landry to give Florida the lead.
“I think it just shows how good we are one-through-nine, and how we have our pitcher’s backs and everything,” Walsh said.
Oklahoma didn’t score again until the top of the sixth, but it was able to score three runs off Rothrock. Oklahoma sophomore designated player Ella Parker hit her ninth home run of the season on the third pitch she saw, tying the contest. The Sooners loaded the bases following a hit by pitch and two consecutive walks, and Rothrock was unable to hold Oklahoma off the scoreboard.
Facing two strikes, Oklahoma freshman pinch hitter Tia Milloy hit an RBI single to center field to give Oklahoma the lead. Junior center fielder Hannah Coor, the next batter, hit an RBI single just over the head of Florida sophomore second baseman Mia Williams to extend the Sooners’ lead to two runs.
Rothrock (11-6) finished her outing with six innings pitched, giving up five runs on nine hits. She struck out three batters and walked three.
As Walsh reached on a single, Florida wasted no time responding in the bottom half of the inning, but junior third baseman Kenleigh Cahalan grounded into a fielder’s choice. Williams stepped up to the plate and gave her team a momentum swing. She hit a two-run home run on a moonshot blast to center field for her team-leading 18th blast of the season, which caused the crowd to erupt.
“It felt great, but just knowing I did it for my team, like we want to win so bad, so doing that I think just gave us energy,” Williams said.
Brown came into the game in relief in the top of the seventh. She pitched three innings, allowing multiple runners to reach base in each. In the top of the eighth, she hit Oklahoma junior catcher Isabela Emerling with a pitch and allowed a single to Coor. Pickering reached on a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and third.
Brown navigated out of the jam, as Oklahoma freshman shortstop Gabbie Garcia hit a ground ball to Williams, who tagged Pickering and threw the ball to Walsh for an inning-ending double play.
She pitched three innings, giving up one run on six hits, while walking one.
On the contrary, Landry pitched nine innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on nine hits. She struck out six Florida batters and walked five.
“It wasn’t the result that we wanted to, but we’re going to come back tomorrow and the next day and get the series,” Walsh said.
Florida will look to even the series over the Sooners on Friday with first pitch slated for 6 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Contact Jackson Colding at jcolding@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Colding_Jackson.
Jackson Colding is a junior sports journalism major and the Spring 2025 softball reporter. He is in his second semester at the sports desk. In his free time, he likes playing hockey, soccer and going to the gym.
