Junior left-hander Randi Roelling had struck out seven Gators in the series entering Saturday’s rubber match. And feeding off UGA’s walk-off win on Friday, Roelling kept rolling. She added at least one strikeout in each of her five innings in the circle on Saturday as the Bulldogs run-ruled Florida, 9-1.
Florida (47-9, 17-7 SEC) showed up with sloppy defense, and Georgia (36-17, 12-12 SEC) continued to put the ball in play, leading to a lopsided five-inning run-rule loss for the Gators in Athens.
UF junior right-hander Keagan Rothrock entered the circle for the third time this series after securing her team-best 26th win of the season in a complete game against the Bulldogs in Game 1 on Thursday. She also tossed a third of an inning in relief on Friday. Rothrock got off to a strong start Saturday, but as UGA began to string together strong at bats in the fourth inning, the wheels began to fall off.
UGA senior Tyler Ellison recorded the first hit of the game with a base knock to right in the second inning, but a 5-4-3 double play sent the Gators back up to the plate in the top of the third.
Then, the Gators struck. Sophomore Taylor Shumaker worked a 3-2 walk with two outs in the third, bringing senior Jocelyn Erickson, UF’s homerun and RBI leader, to the plate. The three-year UF vet turned on an inside pitch and delivered a screaming RBI double that careened off the right-field wall and gave Florida its first, and only, lead of the game, 1-0.
In the bottom half of the inning, UGA showed life as sophomore Bailey Lindemuth worked a leadoff walk. Junior Emily Digby followed with a well-executed bunt down the third-base line that moved Lindemuth into scoring position, but Rothrock bounced back and forced a groundball that advanced Lindemuth to third with two outs.
However, graduate Keirstin Roose shot a groundball down the third-base line that snuck through for an RBI single and tied the game at one after three innings.
UF senior Kenleigh Cahalan came through in the fourth with an infield single, and advanced on a throwing error by Roose. This allowed junior Ava Brown to follow with a blooper that found outfield grass and pushed Cahalan to third. With runners at the corners and only one out, Roelling dug in, striking out UF junior Cassidy McLellan and forcing junior catcher Ella Wesolowski into an infield popup that ended the top of the fourth scoreless.
Rothrock induced a tailor-made double play to third base in the bottom half of the inning, but a UF throwing error left Bulldogs on first and second. It didn’t take long for senior Marisa Miller to deliver an RBI single to right center field, and Lindemuth immediately followed with a sacrifice fly that extended Georgia's lead to 3-1.
With the Gators reeling, a third straight Bulldog batter made solid contact, this time in the form of a long ball. Digby broke the game open with a two-run home run to left that gave Georgia a commanding 5-1 lead after four.
Another double play – this one a groundball to sophomore second baseman Gabi Comia in the fifth – resulted in another costly error for Florida that left two runners aboard with no outs, and it didn’t take long for a single off the bat of UGA senior Sarah Gordon to load the bases.
This set the stage for a walk-off grand slam by freshman Gabi Novickas that left the ballpark in a hurry and ended the game in a 9-1 run-rule after just five innings.
Florida now sets its sights on the SEC Tournament that kicks off Tuesday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.
Curan is a junior sports journalism student in his fourth semester at The Alligator. He is currently the sports desk's football and enterprise beat writer, and previously served as a reporter for men's tennis, sports enterprise and football. He is currently pursuing a public relations minor and is an avid Duval sports fan. (#DTWD)
