Florida head coach Tim Walton isn’t one to recognize storylines — especially not in the postseason. Heading into the NCAA Super Regionals round, Walton did everything he could to avoid teasing the narrative that glaringly stood in front of him.
Florida was tasked with facing the Georgia Bulldogs, a conference opponent who dismantled the Gators the last two times they went head on in the Super Regionals round.
“None of the players [are] on this team, none of the players [are] on that team,” Florida’s skipper said, who had no interest in bringing up the past.
Georgia swept UF in 2016 and 2019: the only two times Florida reached and failed to make it past the Super Regionals round since 2008.
“We’re worried about us and only us,” Florida first baseman Reagan Walsh said May 24. “We don’t care about the record. We’re here to play the game.”
The weekend marked a stark contrast from the team’s previous matchups. Florida (48-15) defeated Georgia (35-23) with phenomenal outings from Gators sophomore pitcher Keagan Rothrock to advance to its 13th Women’s College World Series appearance.
Rothrock surrendered just four earned runs and struck out 12 batters across 15 innings over the weekend.
“Keagan’s back,” Gators center fielder Kendra Falby said. “We’ve seen what she's done, so she's more than capable of doing it again.”
Despite holding the Bulldogs to five total runs over the weekend, the series came down to a few outcome-swaying moments.
In Game 1, Florida outdueled the Bulldogs behind a complete game from Rothrock.
During the first two innings, Florida’s sophomore right-hander punched out four batters and surrendered just one runner on a hit-by-pitch.
She continued to pick off Georgia’s batters one by one until drama ensued in the fourth inning.
Freshman right fielder Taylor Shumaker caught a towering fly ball on the warning track and gunned down a runner attempting to advance to second for a double play.
If the ball landed just 5 feet farther, the Bulldogs would have shaved their deficit to 3-2 and significantly swayed the momentum of the contest.
“I've watched Keagan since she was 12,” Georgia head coach Tony Baldwin said. “To beat her, you have to have a lot of things that go your way.”
A similar instance occurred in Game 2.
Florida left 13 runners on base and struggled against Georgia pitcher Lilli Backes. The Gators had a runner on base in every inning but pushed only one home when senior outfielder Korbe Otis hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
With the bases loaded, Otis sent a ball to the center-field warning track, a few feet shy of a grand slam.
“Softball is a game of inches,” Otis said. “It just wasn’t there for us today.”
Georgia went on to win the game after Florida failed to capitalize with more than a dozen runners in scoring position. The Gators hit .067 with runners in scoring position and left 13 runners on base.
“We had a chance to win today,” Walton said. “We just didn’t execute a great swinging plan.”
The loss set up a win-or-go-home scenario in Game 3. Rothrock earned her third start of the weekend and was nearly flawless.
Florida’s sophomore pitcher threw a complete game and surrendered just two runs in the seventh inning.
The Gators led 1-0 before a raucous fifth inning, clinching UF’s 13th Women’s College World Series. Gators senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf hit a two-run home run, which was followed by Shumaker’s 22nd home run of the season, tying the single-season home run record in Florida program history.
Under Walton, Florida won 5-2 and improved to 6-0 in Game 3 of the Super Regionals.
“We decided we were going to play three games so we can increase our revenue for the postseason,” Walton said jokingly. “The goal is to get to the College World Series, and now we got to reassess our goals and get ready.”
Florida will resume play in the WCWS against the Texas Longhorns at noon May 29. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on X @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is working his fifth semester at The Alligator and returns as the Summer 2025 assistant sports editor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his cat Pete and researching niche professional athletes (shoutout Jacquizz Rodgers).
