UF SB: No. 4 Softball Opens Series With 11-7 Win Over Auburn

Florida will look to secure the weekend series on Saturday.

AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 4 Florida softball team took game one of its three-game series at Auburn on Friday evening, downing the Tigers 11-7 at Jane B. Moore Field.

An offensive slug fest, Taylor Shumaker, Reagan Walsh, Kenleigh Cahalan and Rylee Holtorf each turned in multi-hit performances in the victory.

Shumaker was perfect at the plate, going 3-of-3 with two doubles, two RBI, a sacrifice fly and a walk.

Cahalan and Mia Williams each hit solo home runs, while Jocelyn Erickson drew four of Florida’s eight walks.

In the circle, Kara Hammock (8-1) picked up her second SEC win, allowing no hits in 1.1 innings pitched with four walks.

NOTABLES:

  *   Freshman Taylor Shumaker now has a team-best 12 doubles this season, tied with Melissa Zick (2004) and Aja Paculba (2008) for fourth-most by a Gator freshman
     *   It’s her second times she’s recorded two doubles in the same game this season. She also had two vs. Providence on Feb. 14
     *   Shumaker has recorded a team-best 16 multi-RBI and 15 multi-hit outings
  *   With 54 RBI this season, Shumaker now has the third-most RBI by a Florida freshman in program history
     *   Cheyenne Coyle (60) and Brittany Schutte (59) rank first and second in program history, respectively
  *   In five plate appearances, junior Jocelyn Erickson drew a career-best four walks and was hit by a pitch
     *   Erickson is the first Gator to draw four walks in the same game since Janell Wheaton on April 22, 2017 vs. Ole Miss
  *   Junior Kenleigh Cahalan hit a solo home run in the first at-bat of the second inning, her eighth of the season, a new single-season career best
     *   Both of her hits against the Tigers were for extra bases. She also had a
  *   Sophomore Mia Williams slugged her 12th home run of the season, a solo shot in the top of the sixth inning to left field
     *   Of the 12 home runs she’s hit, 11 have been solo home runs
  *   Freshman Layla Lamar made her first start in SEC play as Florida’s designated player
     *   She drew her first career walk in her first plate appearance in the top of the second
  *   Senior Kendra Falby has reached base in every game, extending her on-base streak to 36 games this season
     *   It’s the longest single-season on-base streak since Kendyl Lindaman reached back in 40-straight during the 2019 season
     *   She has reached base in 38 straight games dating back to 2024
  *   In her last eight at-bats, senior Rylee Holtorf has gone 5-for-8 (.625) with two RBI and a double
     *   Holtorf has six multi-hit performances this season, including in two of the last three games
  *   The Gators have tallied multiple home runs in 21 games this season
     *   Florida has hit 64 home runs this season, 35 of which have been solo home runs
UP NEXT:
The Gators (31-5, 4-3 SEC) will look to secure the weekend series against the Tigers (22-12, 0-10 SEC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.

###

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *