Everything about Friday had the works of a must-win for the Gators.
With a sold-out Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium and Florida ace Keagan Rothrock in the circle, all signs were pointing towards the 30th victory of the season for Florida. The Gators led 1-0 in the early stretch, but that all changed in the top of the fifth.
After only recording one hit through the first four innings, the Lady Vols turned to the top of the order duo of center fielder Sophia Knight and second baseman Ella Dodge, and they delivered.
Knight doubled to center and immediately after, Dodge doubled into right field, scoring Knight and tying the ballgame. Dodge led UT with two hits on Friday night.
Moments later, UT left fielder Alannah Leach lined a single up the middle, allowing Knight to score, giving the Lady Vols a 2-1 advantage.
The two-run surge was enough as No. 5 Florida (29-2, SEC 6-1) fell to No. 1 Tennessee (28-1, SEC 6-1) 2-1 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium on Friday. The loss marks the sixth straight against the Lady Volunteers for the Gators.
Rothrock made her 17th start of the season in the circle Friday and battled through adversity all night. She allowed five free passes in the loss and allowed base runners in all but one inning.
Throughout the first two innings, the ace surrendered three walks and one hit by pitch, allowing the Lady Vols to have first and second in both innings. In response, Rothrock recorded three strikeouts across the two jams.
In the bottom half of the second, Florida shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan wasted no time making her mark on the contest. On the first pitch, she saw Cahalan hammer a solo shot into dead center, giving Florida the lead. The longball extended the junior’s on-base streak to 31 consecutive games.
Moreover, the Lady Vols continued to apply pressure in the third inning as second baseman Ella Dodge led off with a single up the middle. Tennessee’s Emma Clarke then appeared to have a base hit of her own, but Gabi Comia leapt to rob her of extra bases and fired to first, turning a double play.
In the circle, Tennessee’s Sage Mardjetko made her ninth start of the season and was dominant across four innings of work. She struck out seven while allowing just three hits, lowering her ERA to 0.90. The win marked her seventh of the season.
Searching for the tying run, a pair of walks by Jocelyn Erickson and Kendall Grover and an error by the UT second baseman, Dodge, found the Gators with the bases loaded.
But Karlyn Pickens proved why she has the second-best ERA in the nation and struck out three straight to fight out of the jam.
Down to its last three outs, Florida was threatening after Ella Wesolowski led off the top of the 7th, drawing a walk and an error by Dodge allowed Taylor Shumaker to reach base. But Pickens recorded two more strikeouts to secure her second save of the season.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday as UF celebrates its annual Yellow Game in remembrance of Heather Braswell. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Contact Zach Moore at zmoore@alligator.org. Follow him on X @zach_moore27
Zach is a sophomore sports journalism student in his first semester at The Alligator, covering softball. He also has experience as an intern in the Florida Collegiate Summer League. Zach enjoys watching sports in his free time, primarily the Minnesota Vikings, Orlando Magic, and Arsenal FC.
