Keagan Rothrock, Skylar Wallace reflect on leading Florida to SEC championship game

Florida advanced to the finals of the SEC Softball Tournament with a 7-3 win over Texas A&M in the nightcap on Friday, powered by the bat of Skyler Wallace and carried home by a complete game in the circle from Keagan Rothrock.

After the second win of the day for Florida, the duo reflected on the complementary performance from their squad to advance to the championship against Missouri. And speaking with ESPN’s Holly Rowe, Wallace — who hit a two-run blast and scored another run for good measure as she reached base all four times — explained her desire to find any way to get the Gators going.

“Yeah just try and do the best I can to get this team going and just be a leader on the team, set the tone from the get go and just find a way to get the job done any way that looks like, whether that’s cheering, pat on the back, little hug, or getting into them, it’s just finding a way to get it done,” Wallace said.

Wallace’s two-run shot came in the bottom of the 2nd inning and gave Florida a 5-0 lead. The Gators tacked on two runs in the top of the 6th inning to stretch the lead back out, but the five-run cushion was enough for Rothrock.

She was efficient in dispatching the Aggies most of the night, and pounded the strike zone. She threw 59 strikes and 17 balls across her 76 total pitches.

“Just making sure that I’m hitting my locations and if spins not right, hit the location,” Rothrock said of her performance. “Because if I can hit the location, I may still be able to get a weaker out for my defense.” 

Wallace stepped in and commend the freshman pitcher further, especially after she had pitched five innings in Florida’s win in the quarterfinals earlier in the day.

“One more thing on Keagan’s part: That’s a lot of grit right there that you saw,” Wallace said. “Coming after it in game one, getting after it and coming back in game two and being even better with her location, better with her movement. That’s true grit, and that’s why she’s freshman of the year, so huge round of applause for her.”

And with one more game against Missouri to come, Rowe asked Rothrock how much she has left in the tank for the championship matchup.

“A lot,” Rothrock said. “A lot. Everything. I’ve got everything left.”