Mia Williams shines and other takeaways from Florida softball Gainesville Regional win over Mercer
Junior catcher Jocelyn Erickson delivered the walk-off RBI single with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, clinching the run-rule win.
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Ava Brown (11-3) pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief of starter Kara Hammock to pick up her 11th win of the season.
"Very efficient offensive day," Florida softball coach Tim Walton said. "Defensively made some really nice plays. Ava did a really job in relief, I thought Kara did a good job in the start and had a quality go for us."
The Florida Gators (44-14) advanced to play Florida Atlantic on Saturday (noon, TV TBD) in the winner's bracket, The Owls beat Georgia Tech 5-4 in eight innings on a walk-off RBI single by Kiley Shelton, who is the younger sister of Florida baseball shortstop Colby Shelton.
The No. 3 national seed Gators are seeking their 13th CWS appearance in 19 seasons under Walton.
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Here are three takeaways from UF's win over Mercer:
Mia Williams sparks Florida softball with big day at the plate
Williams went 2-for-2 with two doubles and 3 RBIs to help spark the offense as she's continued her slugging sophomore season. Williams, the daughter of former Gator and NBA great Jason Williams, has 19 home runs and 10 doubles on the season.
"My mindset coming into this season was completely different," Williams said. "Last year I was trying to do a lot, trying to press and this year it's just having trust in myself and my teammates and more trust in my coaches, too."
Taylor Shumaker launches another homer for Florida softball
After Kenda Falby walked to lead off the third inning, Shumaker followed with her 19th homer of the season, launching a 2-1 pitch from Mercer starter Hannah Pitts over the wall in right field. Shumaker's home run, which ties the program's freshman home run record first set by Brittany Schutte in 2010, started a five-run rally in the third inning that gave the Gators an early 5-0 lead.
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"I never am looking to really ever hit a home run," Shumaker said. "I don't think that's the kind of hitter that I am. I did know my team needed me to do something whether it was a single, a double, putting the ball in play hard just so we could try to get a little more momentum."
Ava Brown shuts the door in relief for Florida softball
After Hammock lasted 2 2/3 innings, walking three batters and hitting another, Walton turned to Brown with the bases loaded and two outs. Brown got a fly out to end the third inning and pitched the rest of the game, retiring six of the eight batters she faced. She allowed two hits with no walks and two strikeouts.
(This story was updated to add new quotes.)
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Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators' national championship basketball season in 'CHOMP-IONS!' — a hardcover coffee-table collector's book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida softball opens Gainesville Regional play with win over Mercer
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