Rothrock No-Hits Titans; No. 13 Florida Cruises Past Long Beach State
Freshman Keagan Rothrock turned in her second no-hitter of her career just six days after her first against Lafayette College.
FULLERTON, Calif. – The 13th-ranked Florida softball team opened up play at the 2024 Judi Garman Invitational with a pair of wins over host Cal State Fullerton, 9-0 (5), and Long Beach State, 15-0 (5), at Anderson Family Field on a chilly Thursday evening.
The Gators (17-2) freshman right-handed pitcher Keagan Rothrock (7-2, 1 SV) hurled the second no-hitter of her collegiate career in the opening game against the Titans (10-7). The Whiteland, Ind., native faced the minimum 15 batters and threw just 66 pitches. The only blemish on the scorecard was a leadoff walk issued in the bottom of the second inning, but the runner was caught stealing by Jocelyn Erickson shortly after.
UF broke up the pitcher’s duel in the top of the fourth inning and strung together eight hits against the Titans left-handed hurler Staci Chambers (5-3). Skylar Wallace led off the frame with an infield single down the first base line, which was then followed up by Korbe Otis’ second hit of the game on a single to shallow right field.
The pair were advanced to second and third on a groundout from the bat of Jocelyn Erickson, which set the table for Reagan Walsh’s two-run shot through the middle of the Titans infield that raced to the wall in right center and plated both Wallace and Otis.
Freshman Ava Brown doubled the Gators lead to 4-0 with a two-out home run. The Montgomery, Texas native blasted the 2-2 offering from Chambers over the right center field wall to extend the rally. Fellow freshmen Ariel Kowalewski and Mia Willaims stretched the lead out to 5-0 with back-to-back two-out doubles and forced Fullerton to make a pitching change.
Kendra Falby followed with a walk after reliever Ashleigh Dendas entered the circle and Wallace put the Gators ahead 8-0 with her fifth home run of the season. The three-run blast flew over the center field wall and plated Williams and Falby. UF concluded the scoring in the bottom of the fourth after a wild pitch allowed Otis to score from third.
Florida’s offense continued its onslaught on opposing pitching as it closed the night with 15 runs on 10 hits in the nightcap against Long Beach State (2-15). Falby led the charge in the top of the first inning with an infield single, stole second and advanced to third after the throw missed its mark. Wallace walked and then stole second and Otis loaded the bases with a five-pitch walk.
Erickson broke open the scoring and cleared the bases in the ensuing at-bat as she scored the trio of runners with a three-RBI double down the right field line that gave UF a 3-0 lead.
The Gators tacked on three more runs in the top of the second inning to go up 6-0 on LBSU. Falby once again produced an infield single and Otis notched her second hit of the game, fifth of the day, with an RBI single to left that scored Falby from second base. Erickson walked and was immediate driven home as Walsh doubled to right center to score both her and Otis.
Florida added five more runs in the top of the third inning that stretched its lead out over Long Beach State to 11-0. Falby notched her third hit of the game with an RBI single, which was then followed by RBI walks drawn by Wallace and Otis. Erickson tallied her fifth SAC fly of the season for an additional RBI and Cassidy McLellan recorded a SAC fly to close out the frame.
After a scoreless fourth inning, UF tacked on four more runs to bring the final score to 15-0. Avery Goelz notched an RBI double down the right field line, Walsh contributed a SAC fly to right field and freshman Mia Williams capped the night with her first collegiate home run. Williams sent the 0-2 offering well over the center field wall for the final two runs.
In the circle against LBSU, Ava Brown (7-0) earned her seventh win of the year and was assisted by Olivia Miller and Mackenzie Wooten in the final two frames for the two-hit shutout performance.
The Gators return to action Friday, March 1, with a pair of games against No. 18 UCLA at 5:30 p.m. ET and DePaul at 8 p.m. ET.
Notables:
* Freshman Keagan Rothrock hurled the second no-hitter of her career just six days after her first against Lafayette College (Feb. 23).
* Overall, Florida pitching has produced two perfect games and two no-hitters on the year.
* Feb. 11 – Olivia Miller – Bethune-Cookman – Perfect Game – W, 16-0 (5)
* Feb. 23 – Keagan Rothrock – Lafayette College – No-Hitter – W, 16-0 (5)
* Feb. 24 – Olivia Miller – Lafayette College – Perfect Game – W, 8-0 (6)
* Feb. 29 – Keagan Rothrock – Cal State Fullerton – No-Hitters – W, 9-0 (5)
* This the 36th complete-game no-hitter in program history.
* Florida pitching has held opponents to two hits or less in 14 of its 19 games so far this year.
* Korbe Otis went a perfect 5-for-5 through both games combined at the plate. She was 3-for-3 against Cal State Fullerton and 2-for-2 against Long Beach State.
* She scored five runs, drew a pair of walks and secured two RBI.
* Freshman Mia Williams cranked her first collegiate home run in the top of the fifth inning in the win over Long Beach State.
* Jocelyn Erickson tallied her nation’s leading fifth SAC fly tonight.
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