Katie Kistler, Keagan Rothrock lead Florida Gators to WCWS win over Oklahoma State
Behind Katie Kistler’s home run and a complete game shutout by Keagan Rothrock, the No. 4-seed Florida Gators softball team edged No. 5-seed Oklahoma State with a 1-0 victory Thursday in the opening round of the 2024 Women’s College World Series.
After four scoreless innings in a pitcher’s duel between Rothrock and OSU’s Lexi Kilfoyl, the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year and a finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the Gators broke the game open in the fifth.
Florida junior outfielder Kendra Falby, one of two Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners for UF, made the defensive play of the night in center field with her catch against the wall. That led to Kistler’s go-ahead homer in the bottom of the inning.
“That pumped me up,” Kistler said of Falby’s play during her postgame interview on ESPN 2. “We all lean on each other.”
After Kistler grounded out into a double play in her first at-bat, she adjusted her approach and launched a 277-foot home run down the right field line.
It marked Kistler’s fifth homer of the year, the Florida Gators’ first hit of the game and their first run in 11 innings against Kilfoyl this season.
“Right before that at-bat, Coach [Tim] Walton talked to the whole team about making adjustments in their at-bat. We knew what pitches we liked, and we made those small adjustments compared to our first at-bats and those adjustments just worked for me and I’m happy to do it for my teammates,” Kistler said.
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Rothrock outdueled Kilfoyl in the circle with a masterful performance. Florida’s freshman finished with three strikeouts and gave up just two hits and two walks in 94 pitches (66 strikes), retiring 12 straight batters at one point.
Rothrock’s complete game shutout is the first by a Florida pitcher in the WCWS since 2017.
“I heard Coach Walton before the game say it’s just a softball game,” Katie Kistler said. “And that’s what I just kept reminding [Rothrock] and reminding our team. Hey, it’s just another softball game. And just go out there, have fun. It’s the same sport we’ve played since we were, like what, 3-4 years old? So, we just go out there and have fun.”
The Gators’ win over Oklahoma State advances them to the winner’s bracket of the Women’s College World Series and avenges their 3-0 loss to the Cowboys earlier this season. It also gives Walton his first WCWS victory over OSU coach Kenny Gajewski, his former assistant coach at UF (2013-15) and his former teammate at Oklahoma (1994).
Florida will face No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The Longhorns also have a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year finalist in Reese Atwood, the Big 12 Softball Player of the Year.
