Tim Walton praises Keagan Rothrock, Skyler Wallace as Florida leads UGA in SEC quarterfinal

The Florida Gators currently lead the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 6-4 in their SEC Softball Tournament Quarterfinal clash.

During a commercial break, coach Tim Walton spoke with Alyssa Lang, where he heaped some praise on star players Keagan Rothrock and Skylar Wallace, the former pitching a gem, and the latter hitting a home run to give the Gators a lead on Friday.

“That was good,” Walton said, regarding the home run. “Obviously, Keagan going out with a 1-2-3 inning set the tone for us, as well. Had a good at-bat. Korbie [Otis] had a good at-bat. Kendra [Falbe] hit the ball hard.

“But yeah, it’s nice to see. Skylar’s been really starting to heat up here in the last couple of weeks.”

Walton has a ton of confidence in Rothrock, but this is her first SEC Tournament. He noticed some nerves, but her stat line has been immaculate.

“She warmed up a little earlier than usual, I noticed,” Walton added. “So I think for her, it’s just being able to get out there, get as close to her routine as possible. Get all of her pitches in, get all the nerves out and then go out there and just compete.

“But the one thing I’ve really grown to love here, abuot Keagan especially, and down the stretch, is she really wanted to ball, and she’s staring to really embrace that, you know, pressure, if there is. But I’ve been really impressed with how she’s handled her success.”

We’ll see if Florida can hold on to their lead moving forward, but Tim Walton is pretty enthusiastic about the Gators’ play so far.

UPDATE: Florida defeated Georgia by a score of 9-4 on Friday afternoon. They’ll move on to face the winner of the showdown between No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 South Carolina.

2024 SEC Softball Tournament bracket, schedule

Tuesday, May 7

Game 1: Ole Miss 7, Kentucky 2

Wednesday, May 8

Game 2: LSU 3, Alabama 2
Game 3: Missouri 3, Ole Miss 1
Game 4: Georgia 6, Auburn 5
Game 5: South Carolina 8, Mississippi State 4

Thursday, May 9

Game 6: LSU 2, Tennessse 1

Friday, May 10

Game 7: Missouri 3, Arkansas 1
Game 8: Florida 9, Georgia 4
Game 9: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. No. 11 South Carolina

Game 10: No. 8 LSU vs. Missouri winner, TBD on ESPN2
Game 11: Florida vs. Game 9 winner, 35 minutes after Game 10 on ESPN2

Saturday, May 11

Championship Game: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 4 p.m. on ESPN2

All times are CT.