Many fans expected a pitcher’s duel in the rubber match on Sunday and that unfolded. In the circle, Tennessee’s Karlyn Pickens and Florida’s Keagan Rothrock dueled it out.
Ultimately, Rothrock came out on top. The Gators ace hurled her tenth complete game of the season and was lights out in the matinee. She surrendered five hits and had four strikeouts.
Postgame, Rothrock expressed her unwavering gratitude for the Florida fans in attendance.
“This is why you choose to be here. This is why I chose to be here. And the fan base that we have and the support that they show is insane,” Rothrock said.
Rothrock's excellence helped No. 5 Florida (31-2, 7-1 SEC) take the series against No. 1 Tennessee (28-3, 6-3 SEC) on Sunday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium with a 3-2 victory.
The win marks the second time the Gators have won a series over the number one team in America after their series victory against Oklahoma last season on May 3rd, 2025.
“Our crowd was awesome, I think just the number of people and their just ability to stay connected and in tune the whole weekend was awesome”, UF head coach Tim Walton said.
Fresh off Saturday’s victory, Florida wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Tennessee ace Pickens, looking to bounce back from a lackluster performance the day before, made her eighth start in the circle, but ran into early trouble.
The “trouble” was courtesy of the UF leadoff sophomore Taylor Shumaker. The right fielder launched her 13th homer of the season to dead center, giving Florida a 1-0 advantage.
“They have a really good pitching staff, and to just be able to set the tone and show my teammates that we were coming out to win today was really important to me,” Shumaker said.
On the defensive side, the glove of sophomore Gabi Comia has been steady all weekend. After turning a magnificent double play on Friday night, the second baseman continued her excellence on Sunday. In the top of the second, Comia turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the frame.
“Everybody's heard the only two things you can control are your attitude and your effort. And Gabi has just that attitude and aura about her,” Walton said, “She does a good job of being able to relay the coverages and kind of the different things that we need to do as a defense.”
The Gator offense stalled out in the middle of the game, recording one hit until the bottom of the fifth, where they furthered the margin. Pickens surrendered back-to-back walks to junior Cassidy McLellan and junior Ella Wesolowski and a fielder’s choice hit by Comia saw the Gators with second and third with one out.
From there, Pickens surrendered her fourth wild pitch of the day and allowed McLellan to cross home, extending the lead 2-0. Shumaker recorded her second hit of the day up the middle, scoring Comia and giving UF a comfortable 3-0 lead.
In response, Tennessee did not back out of the fight . In the bottom of the sixth, junior Gabby Leach launched a longball that hit off the right field foul pole to cut the Gators' advantage to one.
Ultimately, Florida held onto its 3–2 lead heading into the seventh but ran into trouble when McLellan misplayed a fly ball in left, allowing Elsa Morrison to notch her sixth double of the season.
However, Rothrock settled in and retired the next three Lady Vols to close out the ballgame.
Fresh off its third SEC series victory of the season, No. 5 Florida returns to action on Wednesday for an in-state matchup against Stetson. First pitch is set for 6 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.
