Tim Walton calls Oklahoma State win, 'a good old-fashioned softball game'

Florida scored one run in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie vs. Oklahoma State in the first round of the Women’s College World Series. It would ultimately be the difference in the Gators 1-0 victory against the Cowboys.

UF coach Tim Walton praised his team’s defensive performance — not to mention Katie Kistler‘s game-separating home run — and how Florida was able to keep Oklahoma State at bay offensively despite the Cowboys’ best efforts.

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“What a great game. Kind of a good old-fashioned softball game. Something we haven’t seen in a long time,” Walton said postgame. “Really excited. Again, the energy was great. The crowd was great. A lot of these guys doing it for the first time. It was really exciting. Just proud of them. Previous it’s just cool to see the kids on this stage.

“Kendra [Falby] making a Gold Glove-type play, Keagan [Rothrock] pitching a gem, and Katie with a two-strike bomb. She said to the ESPN people, I’ve never done this before. You haven’t hit a game-winning home run before at the College World Series. Pumped for our program, pumped for our fans. A big-time win.”

It certainly was a pitcher’s duel on Thursday. Both Oklahoma State’s Lexi Kilfoyl and Florida’s Keagan Rothrock pitched complete games with the only run allowed being Kistler’s solo shot down the right field line.

Rothrock finished the game in 94 pitches. She faced 25 Cowboys batters and recorded three strikeouts while allowing two hits and two walks — all which keeping Oklahoma State scoreless in the process.

Kilfoyl was just as impressive, however. She recorded five strikeouts on the day while only allowing two hits as well. It just so happened that one of those hits left the park. Between the two — only one hit was recorded during the first five innings on the game which came on a single from Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys moved into the consolation bracket, where they were eliminated from the WCWS after losing 8-0 to Stanford in six innings on Friday.

Now, the Gators have the tall task of battling the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed in the quarterfinals round — the Texas Longhorns. These two teams, who will be seeing a lot of each other in the coming seasons once Texas moves to the SEC next month.

The first pitch between Florida and Texas is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.