Florida softball opened its 2026 fall season with a commanding 20-0 victory over Santa Fe College on Friday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
The Gators’ lineup featured just one returning starter, redshirt sophomore left fielder Townsen Thomas. Freshman center fielder Shayla Bahr and Louisiana State transfer right fielder Tori Edwards joined Thomas in the outfield.
Three freshmen started in the infield: third baseman Kennedy Bradley, shortstop Nina Carcone, and second baseman Brooklyn Gidley.
Sophomore Kalie Matsuno started at first base, while Duke transfer Kairi Rodriguez handled catching duties.
Freshman right-hander Caroline Stanton excelled in her first start in the circle as a Gator, striking out three and holding Santa Fe hitless through five innings. The reigning Georgia Gatorade Softball Player of the Year set the tone with a perfect top of the first.
Florida’s offense wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. The Gators loaded the bases on two hit-by-pitches and a four-pitch walk from Santa Fe freshman right-hander Rindi Amos. Amos then hit Thomas to force in the opening run.
Rodriguez cleared the bases with a double down the left-field line, extending Florida’s lead to 4-0. In her first at-bat as a Gator, Carcone launched a two-run homer to cap the six-run inning.
Florida added four runs in the second. Thomas reached on a bunt single, and Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, bringing her RBI total to five. Bahr followed with a two-run shot of her own, pushing the Gators’ lead to 10-0.
Saints sophomore pitcher Kadence Compton held the Gators scoreless in the third and fourth innings, but Florida broke through with six runs in the fifth. Thomas led off with a single up the middle, and Edwards followed with a two-run homer to extend the lead to 12-0. Matsuno quickly added Florida’s fifth home run of the night, another two-run shot.
Bahr then singled and stole second before scoring on Gidley’s double, pushing the lead to 15-0. Thomas capped the inning with her second single of the frame, this one for an RBI.
Senior left-hander Olivia Miller entered in relief in the sixth and surrendered Santa Fe’s first hit to sophomore right fielder Alivia Vance. Miller recovered to finish the inning without allowing a run and recorded a strikeout.
Edwards led off the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer off the roof of the bullpen beyond the left-field wall, extending Florida’s lead to 17-0. Bahr added her third RBI of the night to make it 18-0, and the Gators scored twice in the seventh to cap the 20-0 victory.
Florida continues its fall schedule Saturday against Carson-Newman. First pitch is scheduled 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 junior sports journalism student in his third semester at The Alligator. He currently covers soccer for the Fall 2026 season after previously serving as the softball reporter. Zach also has experience as a play-by-play broadcaster in the Florida Collegiate Summer League for the Winter Garden Squeeze. In his free time, Zach enjoys going to the gym and watching sports, especially his favorite teams: the Minnesota Vikings, Arsenal FC, Houston Astros, Orlando Magic and Orlando City SC. A fun fact about Zach is that he is also an avid WWE fan.
