Florida softball beats Georgia Bulldogs in Super Regionals, advances to WCWS

USA Today

26-05-2025

Florida softball beats Georgia Bulldogs in Super Regionals, advances to WCWS
The Florida softball program earned its second-straight trip to the Women's College World Series on Sunday with a win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Game 3 of the 2025 Super Regionals, 5-2, inside Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. It will also be the Orange and Blue's 13th appearance in the WCWS over the past two decades spanning coach Tim Walton's tenure in Gainesville.
Freshman outfielder Taylor Shumaker hit the second of Florida's two fifth-inning home runs — her 22nd of the season — tying the single-season school record for both homers and RBI to help catapult the third-seeded Gators into the next phase of the postseason. She will make her first appearance in Oklahoma City touting a .389 batting average this season.
Senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf smacked a two-run shot before Shumaker's dinger, marking a pivotal moment in the game. Prior to her going yard, Florida's offense had scored just two runs through 11 2/3 frames over the previous two games and had left 23 runners on base.
Sophomore hurler Keagan Rothrock threw all seven frames for her 16th win this season, holding the 'Dawgs to two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk while striking out five with 94 pitches. She worked with a lead all game long and was only bitten only at the very end of her outing by a two-run dinger.
With the win, the Gators improved to 7-1 all-time in Super Regional Game 3s, with all but one of those series coming at home.
Tim Walton's opening statement
"Congratulations to Georgia on an outstanding postseason run. (They) gave us a run for our money, that's for sure. Nothing was easy at all this whole entire weekend. A lot of respect for what they do. Tony Baldwin and his staff work really hard and I know what that feeling is like, so hats off to them," Walton began.
"I couldn't be more proud of not just these two up here, but my entire team, program and staff for working really hard and staying focused on the goal; the goal is getting to the College World Series. Now we have to re-assess our goals and get ready in a short period of time for the College World Series. Just really proud and thankful too for our crowd. Our crowd did a fantastic job, not just this weekend, but the entire season," he continued.
"Obviously, the attendance was fantastic. We decided to play three games so we could increase our revenue for postseason, so it was an awesome run for us. We sold a lot of beer and concessions and made it interesting, made everybody stay to the end, so thanks to everybody for sticking with us."
Tim Walton on Shumaker's performance
"If she would have taken the collar today, she would have been 0-fer for the series. That's never happened for her, I would imagine. But she had four walks in the first game. I don't think that frustrated her. Just the fact that she had so many opportunities to deliver (on Saturday) that she didn't, she came out today and put the work in. I wake up this morning to a text message that she was hitting already," Walton noted.
"She's a worker, not a talker. The more we can get work and more swings and watch the ball flight, the better she gets."
Rylee Holtorf on her clutch home run
"Going into the at-bat, it wasn't the best series, best weekend [for me], but we talked all year about the pitch that matters now is most important. Just being in the moment and knowing my teammates have my back. Keagan was pitching a really good game. We were getting people on base, so doing it for the Gators, together, is what we were all trying to do."
Kendra Falby on top of order capitalizing
"That's how it's been all year. Rylee has been turning the lineup all year, then with me giving it to Taylor. It was a little slow, but when we go we go – and in that inning, we went. For sure. That home run was huge and I was so glad she was able to do that today."
Next up for Florida softball
The Gators open the WCWS Thursday against sixth-seeded Texas Longhorns, who defeated the Clemson Tigers in their three-game Austin Super Regional. The game will be the first of the of the double-elimination tournament, with a start time of noon ET on ESPN.
The Longhorns took two of three from the Gators in their regular-season Southeastern Conference series at Gainesville, with UT winning the first two games 7-2 and 13-7, and UF winning the third 3-1.
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