Florida and UCF played in front of a packed crowd at UCF Softball Complex.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida softball program breezed by UCF, 7-3, Sunday afternoon at the UCF Softball Complex. The Orange & Blue tallied eight hits total that included a pair of home runs by Skylar Wallace and Jocelyn Erickson and Keagan Rothrock hurled three innings and only allowed one hit.
The Gators and the Knights opened the exhibition in front of a packed crowd. UCF took the initial lead in the home half of the first inning of play as Jada Cody hit a solo home run off of freshman right-handed starting pitcher Ava Brown to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
Brown and UCF pitcher Sarah Willis settled into a pitchers’ duel for the following two innings until Florida responded to take the lead in the top half of the fourth inning. Katie Kistler led off the frame with a walk and advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch before being driven home on a opposite field home run by Skylar Wallace during her second at-bat of the exhibition.
The Knights struck back in the bottom of the fourth inning after the first two runners reached base to leadoff the frame that set the table for a double steal that resulted in the lead runner scoring from third on a throwing error. UCF regained the lead 3-2 via an RBI single later in the frame.
Jocelyn Erickson put the Gators back on top 4-3 in the top of the sixth inning of play as she blasted a two-run home run to left center that scored Wallace. Wallace reached in the previous at-bat with an infield single back to the circle.
Erickson extended UF’s lead to 5-4 in the top of the seventh inning with a two-out RBI single up the middle that scored freshman Cassidy McLellan.
Kendra Falby concluded the scoring with a two-RBI double to in the top of the eighth inning that pushed the lead out to 7-3 over UCF.
Brown tossed the first five innings of play and finished with a pair of strikeouts and three runs, while fellow freshman Keagan Rothrock hurled the final three innings and allowed only one hit and struck out four.
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