The eyes were on senior shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan early on in the contest.
The bases were loaded in the third inning, and Cahalan launched a dead-center grand slam to give Florida a 7-0 lead.
That homer was the first grand slam of the season for the Gators, and she became the first Florida player to hit a grand slam in a home opener.
“Honestly i’m just up there trying to relax, it’s my last year, and it’s a small team this year just leaning on each other and our coaches,” Cahalan said.
Behind her performance, No. 4 Florida cruised to a run-rule victory over Jacksonville 11-1. The Gator offense is outscoring opponents 68-5 through its first seven games.
Florida also turned to its ace junior Keagan Rothrock in the home opener. She moved to 4-0 on the year, and the right-handed hurler was lights out. In four innings in the circle, she had ten strikeouts and only gave up one hit in the win.
Head coach Tim Walton has been impressed with the way she has started her junior campaign.
“Keagan came out, and I thought her stuff was really good. She started the season off with more swings and misses that shes had maybe since the stretch from her freshman year,” Walton said.
The Florida offense struggled to begin the ballgame as the first five Gator bats were retired. That was until junior Ava Brown launched a moonshot on top of the batting cage roof in left field to give Florida the early 1-0 lead. This was Brown’s second home run of the year
The Gators were not done. From there, Cahalan drew a walk and stole second to record her first steal of the season. Sophomore Gabi Comia delivered another RBI for the Gators as she hit a single to score Cahalan. The second baseman leads Florida with 12 hits.
Junior Cassidy McLellan continues to shine in the cleanup spot for Florida. In the 3rd, she hit an RBI single to extend the Gators’ lead. McLellan is batting .478, which ranks second on the team.
In the last two games, sophomore Taylor Shumaker moved to the leadoff role in the lineup. On Wednesday, she recorded two hits, including a solo home run that disappeared in the right field trees. Shumaker leads the Gators with three homers and will look to break the record at 22, which she tied last year.
No. 4 Florida returns to action in the 2026 Florida Classic on Friday against Marshall at 3:30 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.
