Florida hit a combined six home runs from five different players on Saturday
TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 3/2 Florida softball team (4-0) picked up a pair of wins on the second day of the USF-Rawlings Invitational, defeating Delaware, 10-5, and RV/No. 22 Michigan, 13-1, in five innings.
With the victories, the Gators improve to 4-0 to start the 2025 season with three run-rule wins.
Florida hit a combined six home runs from five different players on Saturday, including two by freshman Taylor Shumaker and a grand slam from senior Reagan Walsh.
Shumaker and Walsh combined for 12 of Florida’s 21 RBIs on the day, each with a team-best six RBI.
In the circle, sophomore Keagan Rothrock improved to 2-0 and senior Kara Hammock notched her first victory as a Gator.
Game One – Florida 10, Delaware 5
After Hammock set the Blue Hens down in order to open the game, senior Korbe Otis got the scoring started for the Gators, tattooing a two-run home run over the left center field wall.
Shumaker added another pair of runs in the second inning, a two-RBI double, that scored senior Kendra Falby and graduate student Rylee Holtorf. She then stole home to make it 5-0.
Delaware plated their first run of the game in the third, an RBI double, cutting Florida’s lead to 5-1.
The Blue Hens put up a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth, plating the first run on a wild pitch, before hitting a three-run home run, the first long ball the Gators have given up this season, making it 9-5.
Walsh plated the final run of the game with an RBI double in the sixth to secure Florida’s 10-5 win.
Hammock (1-0) pitched five innings, giving up five runs and five walks with four strikeouts.
Sophomore Ava Brown threw two hitless innings of relief to close out the game, allowing just one walk.
Game Two – Florida 13, RV/No.22 Michigan 1 (5 innings)
Shumaker wasted no time getting the Gators on the board in game two.
She smacked a two-run home run in the top of the first, the second of her four-game career, to give the Gators a 2-0 lead after the top of the first.
Michigan scored its only run of the game, in the bottom of frame, stringing together a pair of hits before scoring on an error.
Florida plated three in the second off a Mia Williams solo home run, an RBI single from Reagan Walsh and a sacrifice fly from Jocelyn Erickson to go ahead, 5-1.
Shumaker opened the third with her second home of the game, another two-run ball over centerfield to score Rylee Holtorf.
Already ahead 7-1, the Gators put up a six-spot in the fifth, with Shumaker scoring on a wild pitch, followed by a bases-loaded walk from Erickson and grand slam from Walsh.
Rothrock earned her second victory of the season in her 29th career complete game, allowing no earned runs, two hits and striking out two.
The sophomore right-hander did not allow a walk or a hit-by-pitch.
Notables:
* With four stolen bases on the day, Kendra Falby moved into third all-time outright in career stolen bases, passing Michelle Moultrie (2009-12) at 83. Falby now has 87 swiped bags
* With two stolen bases against both Delaware and Michigan, Falby now has 13 multi-stolen base performances in her career
* Gabi Comia hit her first career home run in her first career at-bat against Delaware. She is the second Gator freshman this season (Shumaker vs. North Florida) to a hit a home run in their first career game
* Five different Gators hit a home run on Saturday – Comia, Otis, Shumaker (2), Williams and Walsh
* Shumaker is the first Gator freshman to hit two home runs in the same game since Olivia Gigante vs. Mercer on March 10, 2023
* The last freshman to hit two home runs in the regular-season game against a ranked opponent was Megan Bush at No. 17 Georgia on April 12, 2008. Brittany Schutte hit two as a freshman in the Women’s College Worlds Series against the No. 9-seeded Missouri Tigers on June 5, 2010 in Oklahoma City
* Walsh has now hit four grand slams in her career – at Jacksonville (2/15/22), vs. Illinois State (2/11/23) vs. No. 23 Kentucky (3/22/24) and vs. RV/No. 22 Michigan (2/8/24)
* Otis, who led the nation in walks in 2024, has drawn a walk in every game this season, including two walks in each of the last three games
* Florida has scored in 17 of 21 innings played through four games
* In last four games, there has been just one inning in each game that the Gators have not scored
* The last time Florida hit three or more home runs in a game was on June 3, 2024 in the WCWS against Oklahoma. The Gators had four home runs that game
Up Next:
Florida closes out the weekend in Tampa on Sunday with two more games. Florida first faces Georgia Southern at 12 p.m., before facing host USF at 2:30 p.m.
