On a windy day in Lexington, Kentucky, the Gators completed their sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats behind a surge of runs.
Despite wind gusts over 40 miles per hour, sophomore Taylor Schumaker quickly showed the Gators’ bats wouldn’t be impacted, hammering a longball deep into center field on Florida’s first at-bat of the game.
The top of Florida’s order kept the momentum going, loading up the bases before a base hit to center field by redshirt freshman Townsen Thomas brought seniors Kenleigh Cahalan and Kendall Grover home to put the Gators up 4-0 early, forcing a swift pitching change for Kentucky.
The Gators’ lefty hitters kept pushing, with Junior Cassidy McClellan launching deep to center field to bring Thomas home from second.
With that, Florida jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first.
Behind its quick start, No. 8 Florida (29-1, 6-0 SEC) completed a sweep of Kentucky (19-9, 1-5 SEC) with a 9-0 run-rule victory.
In the third, the Gators extended their lead to six following an RBI single to left field by junior Ella Wesolowski.
The Wildcats struck back defensively, notching an impressive double play off a flyout to right field by sophomore Gabi Comia, leading to a terrific throw home that caught Thomas running.
Kentucky was able to settle the game down through a pitching change from freshman Hailey Nutter to senior Sarah Haendiges. The senior was able to keep Florida’s bats at bay and keep the Wildcats competitive. Ultimately, though, the Gators’ defense remained stout.
Kentucky had some offensive success in the second, tallying a pair of walks and adding a single, but was unable to get on the board.
Junior Keagan Rothrock pitched well Friday and continued the trend in her second game of the series Sunday. Rothrock pitched all six innings, adding two K’s and another shutout.
In the sixth, the Gators busted the game all the way open behind senior Jocelyn Erickson. The 2024 NFCA Division I Softball Player of the Year and SEC Player of the Year continued her hitting streak with a three-run home run to bring in McClellan and Wesolowski.
It was Erickson’s 16th home run of the season and her third of the weekend to put Florida in run-rule territory and close the game out.
The Gators remain undefeated in conference play and move to 6-0 to start SEC play for the first time since 2017.
Florida will return to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium to take on No. 1 Tennessee on Mar. 20 at 6 p.m.
Contact Logan McBride at lmcbride@alligator.org. Follow him on X @LoganDMcBride.
Logan McBride is a journalism junior and a Spring 2026 track and field reporter. In his free time, he enjoys watching TV shows or playing basketball at Southwest Rec. He is also a big football fan and will die for Dak Prescott.
