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Otis Hits Walk-Off Grand Slam, Florida beats No. 13 Arkansas in Extras

by:Cooper Taylor•04/05/25
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In a high-stakes, back-and-forth battle, Florida’s Korbe Otis capped an emotional extra-innings shootout with a walk-off grand slam to lift the second-ranked Gators past No. 13 Arkansas, 10-7.

Florida ace Keagan Rothrock made just her second SEC start and was met by an explosive Arkansas lineup, while Payton Burnham got the nod in the circle for the Razorbacks. Both teams turned to their bullpens early in a game full of momentum swings.

Florida jumped on Burnham in the first. Kendra Falby led off with a single, and Taylor Shumaker walked. With two outs, Otis singled in a run before Reagan Walsh launched a two-run homer to left, putting the Gators up 3-0.

After a quiet second inning, Arkansas answered in the third. Reagan Johnson singled, Raigan Kramer doubled, and Ellis knocked in the Razorbacks’ first run with a single of her own. Freshman Ella McDowell followed with a towering three-run homer to left, giving Arkansas a 4-3 lead. Burnham tossed a clean third to preserve the advantage.

The Razorbacks sent eight batters to the plate in both the third and fourth innings. A Florida error and Johnson’s second hit of the game set up another scoring opportunity. Ellis drove in her second run with a single before back-to-back walks pushed another run across, extending the lead to 6-3. Rothrock escaped further damage with consecutive strikeouts.

Florida responded in the bottom of the fourth. After Burnham issued two straight walks, Robyn Herron entered in relief. On a full count, Mia Williams tied the game with a three-run homer. Herron limited the damage to send the game to the fifth knotted at six.

In relief of Rothrock, Olivia Miller retired the Razorbacks in order in the fifth, and Herron matched with a clean frame. Arkansas loaded the bases in the sixth to chase Miller, but Ava Brown entered and induced a pop out to end the threat. Herron answered with another 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half.

In the seventh, Arkansas again loaded the bases, this time after a pair of two-out walks. The Razorbacks elected to intentionally walk Ellis, bringing up Kailey Wyckoff, who grounded out to end the inning. Herron recorded a third consecutive 1-2-3 frame to send the game to extras.

The top of the eighth opened with controversy. After McDowell singled and Atalyia Rijo reached on a fielder’s choice, a sacrifice bunt attempt resulted in a dead-ball ruling. Following a 24-minute review, the runner was ruled safe at first, loading the bases with no outs. Florida head coach Tim Walton was ejected after a heated argument with the umpiring crew.

Despite the chaos, Brown responded with poise. The sophomore right-hander induced a flyout, struck out Kennedy Miller and snagged a lineout from Johnson to escape the jam.

Herron worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the eighth to keep the game tied. Ellis then gave Arkansas a 7-6 lead in the ninth with a solo home run to center—her third RBI of the game.

Florida rallied once more in the bottom of the ninth. Herron struck out Brown to start the inning, but a hit-by-pitch to Rylee Holtorf and an infield single from Falby pushed the tying run into scoring position. Shumaker then grounded out to move the go-ahead into scoring position. Arkansas intentionally walked Jocelyn Erickson to load the bases for Otis. On an 0-1 riseball, Otis delivered—lining a walk-off grand slam over the left field wall to set up tomorrow’s rubber match on SECN+ at 2 p.m. ET.

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