Florida will play the winner of Texas A&M and South Carolina Friday evening on ESPN2 after the conclusion of the LSU and Missouri semifinal game.
AUBURN, Ala. – The second-seeded Florida softball team advanced to the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals with a, 9-4, quarterfinal win over seventh-seeded Georgia early Friday afternoon at Jane B. Moore Field.
The Gators (44-12) and the Bulldogs (39-16) combined for six total home runs and 11 of the 13 runs scored were via the long ball. UF struck for three homers with shots from Skylar Wallace, Jocelyn Erickson and Emily Wilkie.
Wallace opened the scoring and gave the Orange & Blue an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Korbe Otis was the first to reach base in the frame as she drew a one-out walk, but it was Wallace’s 11th home run of the season that scored the pair as she sent the 3-1 pitch from UGA starting pitcher Lilli Backes into the trees past the center field wall.
SEC Freshman of the Year recipient Keagan Rothrock (24-6) received the start in the circle for UF and held the Bulldogs scoreless for 5 1/3 innings before back-to-back hits with one out tied the game 2-2. Jaiden Fields reached with a single up the middle of the infield, while Emily Digby followed with a two-run home run that cleared the right field fence.
The Gators retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning 6-2 as the Bulldogs entered Madison Kerpics (12-3) in relief of Backes to start the frame. The frame started with Mia Williams reaching via a hit-by-pitch and continued with a one-out walk drawn by Otis. Wallace drove in her third run of the game when she drove the 3-2 offering off the left field wall for an RBI single that scored Williams from second.
Erickson, the freshly named SEC Player of the Year, broke the game open in the very next at-bat as she launched her 12th home run of the season over the right field wall that scored three more for the Gators.
The Bulldogs bounced back to cut into the UF lead, 6-4, with back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the sixth. Jayda Kearny and Sara Mosely produced a pair of solo home runs to center and left center field respectively. Ava Brown came in relief after a lineout back to Rothrock in the circle and a single to center and struck out Jaiden Fields for the final out of the frame.
Florida struck back and extended its lead out to 9-4 with three-run frame in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ariel Kowalewski drew a one-out walk, which brought to the plate pinch-hitter Emily Wilkie. Wilkie worked a 3-2 count off Backes, who reentered the game, and blasted a two-run home run over the left field wall for a two-run shot. Otis followed with her fourth triple of the year down the right field line and Wallace pushed her across home plate via an RBI single to center field.
Georgia attempted to rally and loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh, but Brown and the Gators settled in on defense and retired the heart of the UGA lineup in order. In the relief effort, Brown earned her second save of the season.
Florida will play the winner of South Carolina and Texas A&M following the conclusion of the LSU and Missouri semifinal game on ESPN2 later today.
Notables:
* Florida improved to 38-29 (.567) in the SEC Tournament with today’s win over Georgia.
* The win was also improved UF’s record over Top 25 opponents to 18-8 on the year.
* Skylar Wallace belted her 11th home run of the season in the bottom of the first inning that gave UF a 2-0 lead over Georgia.
* The hit extended Wallace’s hit-streak out to six games, her reached base safely streak out to nine and now has 21 multi-hit games on the year.
* The multi-RBI performance was her 15th of the year, which ranks third on the team.
* Korbe Otis drew her 51st walk of the year in the bottom of the first and 52nd in the bottom of the fifth. Otis entered the week ranked second nationally in the category as one of two players to have 50-plus walks to end the regular season.
* Otis followed with her fourth triple of the season with a shot down the right field line in the bottom of the sixth.
* The walk also extended her reached base safely streak to 16 games, which ties her season long mark.
* Kendra Falby doubled in the bottom of the third inning and has now reached base safely in the last 12 games.
* The double was the 100th double of the season for UF and is just two doubles shy of tying the 2008 program record of 102.
* SEC All-Defensive catcher and SEC Player of the Year Jocelyn Erickson threw out her 12th runner of the year attempting to steal in the top of the fifth inning.
* Erickson also hit her 12th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning. The three-run shot extended Florida’s lead out to 6-2.
* Emily Wilkie recorded her first home run of the season with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
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