Tara's Takeaways: Florida runs away with opener, Rothrock keeps rolling

Athens, Ga. – Florida jumped out to an early three-run lead in the series opener at Georgia in front of a standing-room-only crowd and never looked back, a stark contrast to the run-rule loss to Florida State on Wednesday.

Keagan Rothrock earned the victory tossing five innings, allowing only two hits and one run. Rothrock surrendered five free passes on the evening but limited the damage each time Georgia threatened with runners on base. The rookie right-hander threw 47 strikes out of 87 pitches, yet carried a one-hitter into the fifth inning. It wasn’t pretty at times but Rothrock battled through the adversity holding the Bulldogs 0-4 with runners in scoring position.

How it happened. Korbe Otis’ double down the left field line got things going, followed by a Skylar Wallace hit-by-pitch to put runners on first and second. Jocelyn Erickson stepped into the box with one out and blasted a double of her own down the left-field line for her 60th and 61st RBI of the season.

In the bottom of the inning, Mia Williams collected all three outs for Florida, including a slick play in the 3/4 hole and a double-play on a ball up the middle.

In the bottom of the second inning, back-to-back walks to Lyndi Rae Davis and Sydney Kuma put two on for the Dawgs. Rothrock induced a Sydney Chambley towering fly ball to center field and a big strikeout for the second out of the inning. A pop-up ended the threat and Georgia’s best chance to score.

Skylar Wallace led off the third inning with a laser up the middle that nearly clipped Walters in the circle and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Wallace took third on a sacrifice fly to left field and scored on Reagan Walsh’s single to right, extending the lead to 4-0. Walsh showed incredible patience at the plate and a nice reset after a questionable call on the outer half.

Four runs in the top of the fourth extended the lead to 8-0. Ariel Kowalewski led off with a single to the right side and advanced to second on a sac bunt. Kowalewski took third on a back pick. Falby drew a one-out walk to put runners on the corners but eventually took second on a delayed steal. Wallace singled up the middle to score a pair, and Erickson’s sac-fly scored Otis from third. Wallace stole home on another delay steal from first.

The Gators managed to do all the little things early: solid defense, good plate discipline, aggressive base running and timely hitting.

Two-RBI single for @Wallace2Skylar🔥

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— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) April 26, 2024

Scouting note: With five stolen bases on the evening, it was clear putting pressure on the defense was a part of the plan as referenced by head coach Tim Walton in a postgame interview.

Another pitching change for the Bulldogs put Destin Howard in the circle for the top of the fifth. Howard’s back-to-back walks and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for the top of the order. Otis delivered with a sac fly to center field to tack on a run-rule insurance run to extend the lead to 9-0.

A Jaiden Fields pinch-hit solo home run kept the Bulldogs’ hopes alive in the fifth to make it 9-1.

Skylar Wallace ended the day going 2-for-3 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Wallace noted the bounce-back run-rule victory.