Following a Friday night pitcher’s duel where both teams combined for five hits overall, many thought the same would ensue Saturday. It seemed like the pitching dominance would continue through four innings as Mississippi State was holding onto a narrow 2-0 advantage.
But that all changed in the fifth.
In the top half, Morgan Stiles lined a double into left field, and Anna Carder then singled, giving the Bulldogs runners on first and third. The cleanup hitter, Paige Ernstes, delivered and cleared the bases with a double into right center, extending the advantage to 4-0.
Soon after, Nadia Barbary launched her ninth homer of the season over the left field wall, giving Mississippi State a comfortable 6-0 cushion.
No. 5 Florida (35-5, 10-4 SEC) suffered its second loss at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium of the season against No. 13 Mississippi State (33-8, 5-6 SEC) 9-5 on Saturday. The nine runs mark the highest run total the Florida pitching staff has allowed in SEC play this season.
The Bulldogs used two pitchers in the victory. Alyssa Faircloth made her 14th start of the season, and the southpaw struck out nine over five innings of work. In relief, Peja Goold avenged Friday’s heartbreaking defeat, closing out the contest, allowing one run.
On the flip side, Florida used four pitchers in the loss. Sophomore Katelynn “Red” Oxley got the start, working four innings while allowing five hits. Junior Allison Sparkman entered in relief but struggled, surrendering three runs while recording just one out.
Freshman Leah Stevens followed, giving up three runs in one inning of work, and junior Olivia Miller closed out the outing, allowing four hits and one run.
For the second consecutive day, the Florida defense turned a double play in the first inning, and it was courtesy of the reigning Softball America defender of the week, Kenleigh Cahalan. Kiarra Sells led the contest off with a single into left, but she was doubled off when Anna Carder lined a rocket right to the shortstop, and she fired over to Jocelyn Erickson at first.
However, it didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to get on the scoreboard Saturday. Nadia Barbary forced a two-out walk, and Des Rivera launched a double into the right-center gap, allowing Barbary to score from first.
The opportunity to tie up the ballgame came for the Gators when sophomore Taylor Shumaker recorded their first hit off Faircloth in the third on a single into left. From there, a wild pitch moved her to second, and a sacrifice fly from senior Jocelyn Erickson allowed the right fielder to advance to third.
However, Bulldog second baseman Xiane Romero made a diving catch to rob Cahalan of an RBI single and ended the scoring threat.
Mississippi State capitalized on Florida’s offensive struggles immediately. Morgan Bernardini led off the fourth inning with a towering home run over the left-field wall, giving the Bulldogs a 2–0 lead.
Down by six, the Gators forced the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, and the offense finally showed signs of life. Shumaker put UF on the board with a sacrifice fly into left, and immediately after, Erickson launched a three-run homer, putting UF back in the contest, trailing by two. Shumaker led the Gators with two hits in the loss.
The Bulldogs cleanup hitter, Ernstes, wasn’t finished after her two-run double in the fifth. In the top of the sixth, she launched her second double of the day with the bases loaded, extending the cushion 9-4. She finished the day with a season-high five RBIs.
Finally, UF junior Madison Walker singled up the middle in the seventh, scoring Shumaker to cut the lead to four, but Goold wrapped things up, forcing the rubber match on Sunday.
The series decider is set for Sunday, with first pitch scheduled 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.
