Florida softball hits back-to-back home runs, including inside-the-park one

Florida softball is up 3-0 against Oklahoma in the Women’s College World Series thanks in part to a wild inside-the-park home run by Kendra Falby.

Falby hit an inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the second inning off Oklahoma starting pitcher Nicole May. The ball landed near the foul line in left field, not even to the halfway part of the outfield, just outside of the reach of Oklahoma outfielder Rylie Boone.

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By the time Boone got to her feet, chased the ball down at the wall in left field and threw the ball in, Falby had easily scored. You can watch the play below:

INSIDE THE PARK HR!

Let's go, @kendrafalby 👏

📺 ESPN | #GoGators pic.twitter.com/CGyQzbJ6RT

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) June 3, 2024

The home run came at the perfect time for Kendra Falby, who had been 0-for-18 in the WCWS up until that point. In fact, she had been 0-for-20 in her past 20 at bats, which was the longest drought of her career.

The inside-the-park home run was the first at the Women’s College World Series since 2014.

Florida leadoff hitter Skylar Wallace then followed with a home run of her own to give the Gators a 3-0 lead over the Sooners in the Women’s College World Series.

Florida is facing elimination against the Sooners. The Gators must beat Oklahoma twice to advance to the Women’s College World Series finals.

As for the other side of the bracket, Texas and Stanford are still alive. The Longhorns are in the driver’s seat right now and Stanford will have to beat the Longhorns twice to advance to the finals.

While Florida is out to an early lead, it’s Oklahoma that has had the best program in the country under Patty Gasso. The Sooners have won three consecutive national titles and are in position to win a fourth straight this season.

Oklahoma is 56-6 on the season entering Monday’s game, including a perfect 2-0 in Oklahoma City. The Sooners beat Duke 9-1 and UCLA 1-0 to set up the huge matchup with Florida.

As for the Gators, they beat Oklahoma State 1-0 in their opening game at the College World Series, before falling 10-0 to Texas. Florida then beat Alabama 6-4 to stay alive and set up a meeting with Oklahoma.

It will be interesting to see if the Gators can stay alive and live to fight another day in Oklahoma City or if Oklahoma can take another step towards winning a fourth straight national title.