New Story This, That, & More on a Monday (5/26)
- By JasonHigdon
- The Swamp
- 0 Replies
Happy Memorial Day to you all, and a special thanks to those who served this country!
Kress Shoots 3-under, Gators 1-under and 13 Shots inside Match Play Cut Tomorrow. Matthew Kress turned in the second-lowest round in day three with a 3-under 69.
CARLSBAD, Calif. - Florida men's golfer Matthew Kress led the team in round three of the NCAA National Championships with a 3-under 69 as the Gators are in 4th at 1-under en route advancing to the fourth and final round of stroke play with a 13-shot advantage into tomorrow's top-8 match play cut at Omni La Costa.
The last time Florida was under par through the first three rounds of the National Championship was 2001 when the Gators won both the individual (Nick Gilliam) and team titles.
UF earned a spot in the final round of stroke play for the seventh time in program history for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time under head coach J.C. Deacon since the match play era that began 2009. Entering his 11th season, he was named one of five finalists for the National Coach of the Year.
Tomorrow Florida tees off at 2:26 p.m. ET and is paired with Oklahoma State (+5) and Texas (+5), who are both tied for fifth-place. The Gators are one of four teams under par along with Auburn (-10), Arizona State (-6) and Oklahoma (-6). Coverage of the final round can be watched live on Golf Channel beginning at 6 p.m. ET as the network will cover all three rounds of match play action.
In the final match play spot sits Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Texas Tech at +12 as there are also six teams are within five or less strokes as tomorrow, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest will be in a playoff tomorrow morning for the final 15th advancing spot at +17.
The Gators had a round three of 4-over 292, their highest score this week and first over-par round since the opening round of the Calusa Cup on April 6. Following tomorrow's final round of stroke play, the top-8 teams will advance to match play as the NCAA Individual Champion is also determined after 72-holes. Florida looks to reach match play for the second time in three seasons and enter tomorrow 13 strokes ahead of eighth-place as they made the top-15 cut today by 18 shots.
After two bogeys in his first three holes, Kress finished 5-under behind eight birdies and a 4-under mark on the final nine holes. In his 11th career stroke play round at the National Championship, he notched his fourth under par today. He closed in the final six holes with three straight birdies on holes 4-6, including a 20-foot plus birdie on the par5 sixth (671 yards). The Saratoga, Calif. native moved up 31 spots into T14 and is 1-under overall as his 3-under round was tied for the second-lowest of the day.
Sophomore Jack Turner had the second-lowest round in the lineup with a 73 (+1). He was 1-over at the turn before finishing even-par on the next nine, the front as Florida teed off the back nine this morning. It was his best round through 54-holes.
The next two counting scores were a pair of 75s (+3) in Luke Poulter and Ian Gilligan. Poulter battled back from +5 mark at the turn with three bogeys and a double-bogey with four birdies between holes 1-6. He remains one under par this week and is tied for 14th with Kress. Gilligan is tied with freshman Zack Swanwick in T31, who also had a 75.
Also following tomorrow's final 18-holes, the final PGA Tour University Rankings are finalized as Gilligan is currently ranked No. 3. He is projected to finish between No. 2-5, which will earn him Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the season along with Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School with 2026 membership in the PGA TOUR Americas through the Latin America Swing. In 2023, Florida had three finish in the final top-25 rankings with Fred Biondi (No. 2), Ricky Castillo (No. 9) and Yuxin Lin (No. 10).
Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On the tournament and what has worked well so far...
"What's going well is that we're getting contributions from everyone. It's kind of been the thing with our team all year long. We got five great players, tremendous depth and everyone's been contributing this week. We saw today that with Matthew Kress today. Shooting 69, which we will see after his round, but will probably be one of the low rounds of the day. Not our best team score today. We have some things that we need to correct today, but overall, we're in a good spot."
Senior Matthew Kress
On what worked well the final nine holes...
"The one club in my bag, and it was the putter. Dudley (Hart) helped me a lot with the numbers getting to the greens, because that's what's hard about this course. But the putter definitely helped me today. I got myself in position with Dudley's help on the greens. Then I was committed to the lines on the greens, and made a lot of putts."
On does having postseason experience and playing at Omni La Costa prior help...
"I don't think you can avoid that on this course and in this tournament. Not going through a tough stretch of six to seven holes. I got in a tough stretch pretty early on that back nine, and then turned to the front which a little bit easier from experience. So I knew there was an opportunity to turn the round in after a tough start going on to the front nine. You just have to hunker down and just get through it."
On message to guys having experience getting here and trying to get to match play...
"Last year we really limped in to finish. We were basically in match play and we limped in. I think we maybe got a little comfortable. Finishing holes on how hard this course was, you can't take it for granted. You have to forget about the top-eight and treat every hole like it's the first hole of the tournament and try to finish really strong no matter how many shots inside or outside the cut line. We have to finish, that's the only message that matters."
Florida Leaderboard
Place
Name
Total Score
Total Par
Rd. 1 Score
Rd. 1 Par
Rd. 2 Score
Rd. 2 Par
Rd. 3 Score
Rd. 3 Par
T14
Matthew Kress
215
-1
75
+3
71
-1
69
-3
T14
Luke Poulter
215
-1
70
-2
70
-2
75
+3
T31
Zack Swanwick
218
+2
70
-2
73
+1
75
+3
T31
Ian Gilligan
218
+2
71
-1
72
E
75
+3
T57
Jack Turner
221
+5
74
+2
74
+2
73
+1
Team Leaderboard
Place
Team
Total
RD 1
RD 2
RD 3
1
Auburn
854
-10
286
-2
282
-6
286
-2
2
Arizona State
858
-6
286
-2
277
-11
295
+7
3
Oklahoma
861
-3
280
-8
286
-2
295
+7
4
Florida
863
-1
285
-3
286
-2
292
+4
T5
Oklahoma State
869
+5
293
+5
285
-3
291
+3
T5
Texas
869
+5
285
-3
291
+3
293
+5
7
Florida State
873
+9
285
-3
290
+2
298
+10
T8
Texas Tech
876
+12
292
+4
298
+10
286
-2
T8
Texas A&M
876
+12
297
+9
291
+3
288
E
T8
Ole Miss
876
+12
293
+5
287
-1
296
+8
11
Virginia
877
+13
299
+11
287
-1
291
+3
12
Brigham Young
878
+14
289
+1
300
+12
289
+1
T13
Vanderbilt
879
+15
294
+6
294
+6
291
+3
T13
Pepperdine
879
+15
293
+5
294
+6
292
+4
T15
Georgia Tech*
881
+17
293
+5
294
+6
294
+6
T15
Wake Forest*
881
+17
296
+8
292
+4
293
+5
-Top-15 Cut -
17
California
884
+20
289
+1
295
+7
300
+12
18
Illinois
887
+23
286
-2
297
+9
304
+16
19
South Carolina
890
+26
302
+14
293
+5
295
+7
T20
UCLA
894
+30
301
+13
297
+9
296
+8
T20
Tennessee
894
+30
304
+16
296
+8
294
+6
22
Georgia
895
+31
291
+3
306
+18
298
+10
T23
UNLV
896
+32
299
+11
300
+12
297
+9
T23
Colorado
896
+32
289
+1
298
+10
309
+21
25
USF
897
+33
293
+5
309
+21
295
+7
26
New Mexico
900
+36
297
+9
305
+17
298
+10
27
Purdue
901
+37
307
+19
294
+6
300
+12
28
Augusta
903
+39
295
+7
310
+22
298
+10
29
Troy
906
+42
292
+4
308
+20
306
+18
30
San Diego
919
+55
294
+6
316
+28
309
+21
NCAA TOURNAMENT
GAINESVILLE SUPER REGIONAL GAME 3 (UF RELEASE)
Chris Harry / Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman outfielder Taylor Shumaker hit the second of Florida's two fifth-inning home runs, with her blast tying the single-season school record for both homers and RBI, but of far more significance helping send the third-seeded Gators to the 2025 Women's College World Series with a 5-2 victory Sunday over rival Georgia in their decisive third game of the Gainesville Super Regional at Pressly Stadium.
Shumaker's two-run blast, her 22nd of the season, came two batters after senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf clubbed a two-run shot that turned what was a precarious 1-0 lead to start the inning into a 5-0 cushion. That was a big relief for the home team and its fans, who not only had to sit through a 71-minute weather delay in the middle of the fifth but also endure the first four innings when the Gators stranded 10 base runners in a one-run game.
With a comfortable lead, sophomore Keagan Rothrock (16-6) put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs. After facing just two batters over the minimum through six innings, Georgia got a pair of runs in the seventh on a two-run homer by Jaydyn Goodwin with nobody out. Rothrock, though, responded by getting three outs over next four batters to send UF to its second straight WCWS and its 13th in 20 seasons under Coach Tim Walton.
A finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year, Shumaker started the scoring with a RBI single in the first inning. Her homer tied the single-season mark held by Brittany Schutte (2011) and also gave her 83 RBI on the season, tying the single-season mark set last year by Jocelyn Erickson. Shumaker will have at least two more games to break both records; in Oklahoma City, no less.
The first inning was a combination of Game 1 UF and Game 2 UF. The Gators, who jumped on the Bulldogs for a 3-0 lead in the series opener, took a 1-0 lead on Shumaker's single to center, then loaded the bases with nobody out and clean-up batter Erickson stepping to the plate. Erickson, though, lined hard to second, with Shumaker picked off for a double play. The next two UF hitters reached base to reload the bases, but Mia Williams grounded out to end the inning and strand three more runners after the team left 13 on in Game 2. The Bulldogs, who yanked starter and Game 2 winner Lilli Backes (16-11) for Randi Roelling after just three batters, escaped the inning down just 1-0.
Much to the frustration of the home crowd, it was rinse and repeat in the second through fourth innings. UF left two more on in the second, the bases loaded again in the third and after a 71-minute weather delay got the first two batters on in the fourth only to see the meat of the order -- Erickson, Reagan Walsh and Korbe Otis, the 3-4-5 hitters -- go down on infield pop-ups.
The fifth inning did not follow suit.
Holtorf, the No. 9 hitter, snapped her 1-for-12 slump for the NCAA Tournament by parking her sixth homer of the season to give UF some breathing room at 3-0. After Falby drew a two-out walk, Shumaker crushed her homer well over the right-field fence to go up 5-0.
Rylee Holtorf unloads for her fifth-inning homer.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Holtorf's home run broke the seal for an offense that had scored just two runs through 11.2 innings over the previous two games and had left 23 runners on base. The transfer from Washington came to the plate hitting .083 in the six tournament games.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Shumaker, hitting .389 on the season, will be a marquee attraction in her first appearance in her sport's grand spectacle at OKC.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators improved to 7-1 all-time in Super Regional Game 3s, with all but one of those series coming at home.
UP NEXT: Florida (48-15) will open the WCWS Thursday against sixth-seeded Texas (51-11), which defeated Clemson 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.
SENDING OFF THE GATORS: Florida softball fans are invited to cheer on the team at an official send-off event on Monday at 11 a.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, where the Gators will depart for Oklahoma City.
QUOTES
Coach Tim Walton
* (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. 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. 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."
* (On Shumaker's 3-for-3, 3-RBI performance after going 0-for-4 in Saturday's loss): "If she would have taken the collar today, she would have been o-fer for the series. That's never happened for her, I would imagine. But she had four walks in the first game [Friday]. I don't think that frustrated her. Just the fact that [Saturday] she had so many opportunities to deliver 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. … 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 coming up with the 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 Holtorf turning the line up and the top of the 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."
Kress Shoots 3-under, Gators 1-under and 13 Shots inside Match Play Cut Tomorrow. Matthew Kress turned in the second-lowest round in day three with a 3-under 69.
CARLSBAD, Calif. - Florida men's golfer Matthew Kress led the team in round three of the NCAA National Championships with a 3-under 69 as the Gators are in 4th at 1-under en route advancing to the fourth and final round of stroke play with a 13-shot advantage into tomorrow's top-8 match play cut at Omni La Costa.
The last time Florida was under par through the first three rounds of the National Championship was 2001 when the Gators won both the individual (Nick Gilliam) and team titles.
UF earned a spot in the final round of stroke play for the seventh time in program history for the fourth consecutive season and fifth time under head coach J.C. Deacon since the match play era that began 2009. Entering his 11th season, he was named one of five finalists for the National Coach of the Year.
Tomorrow Florida tees off at 2:26 p.m. ET and is paired with Oklahoma State (+5) and Texas (+5), who are both tied for fifth-place. The Gators are one of four teams under par along with Auburn (-10), Arizona State (-6) and Oklahoma (-6). Coverage of the final round can be watched live on Golf Channel beginning at 6 p.m. ET as the network will cover all three rounds of match play action.
In the final match play spot sits Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Texas Tech at +12 as there are also six teams are within five or less strokes as tomorrow, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest will be in a playoff tomorrow morning for the final 15th advancing spot at +17.
The Gators had a round three of 4-over 292, their highest score this week and first over-par round since the opening round of the Calusa Cup on April 6. Following tomorrow's final round of stroke play, the top-8 teams will advance to match play as the NCAA Individual Champion is also determined after 72-holes. Florida looks to reach match play for the second time in three seasons and enter tomorrow 13 strokes ahead of eighth-place as they made the top-15 cut today by 18 shots.
After two bogeys in his first three holes, Kress finished 5-under behind eight birdies and a 4-under mark on the final nine holes. In his 11th career stroke play round at the National Championship, he notched his fourth under par today. He closed in the final six holes with three straight birdies on holes 4-6, including a 20-foot plus birdie on the par5 sixth (671 yards). The Saratoga, Calif. native moved up 31 spots into T14 and is 1-under overall as his 3-under round was tied for the second-lowest of the day.
Sophomore Jack Turner had the second-lowest round in the lineup with a 73 (+1). He was 1-over at the turn before finishing even-par on the next nine, the front as Florida teed off the back nine this morning. It was his best round through 54-holes.
The next two counting scores were a pair of 75s (+3) in Luke Poulter and Ian Gilligan. Poulter battled back from +5 mark at the turn with three bogeys and a double-bogey with four birdies between holes 1-6. He remains one under par this week and is tied for 14th with Kress. Gilligan is tied with freshman Zack Swanwick in T31, who also had a 75.
Also following tomorrow's final 18-holes, the final PGA Tour University Rankings are finalized as Gilligan is currently ranked No. 3. He is projected to finish between No. 2-5, which will earn him Korn Ferry Tour membership for the remainder of the season along with Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School with 2026 membership in the PGA TOUR Americas through the Latin America Swing. In 2023, Florida had three finish in the final top-25 rankings with Fred Biondi (No. 2), Ricky Castillo (No. 9) and Yuxin Lin (No. 10).
Post Round Quotes - Head Coach J.C. Deacon
On the tournament and what has worked well so far...
"What's going well is that we're getting contributions from everyone. It's kind of been the thing with our team all year long. We got five great players, tremendous depth and everyone's been contributing this week. We saw today that with Matthew Kress today. Shooting 69, which we will see after his round, but will probably be one of the low rounds of the day. Not our best team score today. We have some things that we need to correct today, but overall, we're in a good spot."
Senior Matthew Kress
On what worked well the final nine holes...
"The one club in my bag, and it was the putter. Dudley (Hart) helped me a lot with the numbers getting to the greens, because that's what's hard about this course. But the putter definitely helped me today. I got myself in position with Dudley's help on the greens. Then I was committed to the lines on the greens, and made a lot of putts."
On does having postseason experience and playing at Omni La Costa prior help...
"I don't think you can avoid that on this course and in this tournament. Not going through a tough stretch of six to seven holes. I got in a tough stretch pretty early on that back nine, and then turned to the front which a little bit easier from experience. So I knew there was an opportunity to turn the round in after a tough start going on to the front nine. You just have to hunker down and just get through it."
On message to guys having experience getting here and trying to get to match play...
"Last year we really limped in to finish. We were basically in match play and we limped in. I think we maybe got a little comfortable. Finishing holes on how hard this course was, you can't take it for granted. You have to forget about the top-eight and treat every hole like it's the first hole of the tournament and try to finish really strong no matter how many shots inside or outside the cut line. We have to finish, that's the only message that matters."
Florida Leaderboard
Place
Name
Total Score
Total Par
Rd. 1 Score
Rd. 1 Par
Rd. 2 Score
Rd. 2 Par
Rd. 3 Score
Rd. 3 Par
T14
Matthew Kress
215
-1
75
+3
71
-1
69
-3
T14
Luke Poulter
215
-1
70
-2
70
-2
75
+3
T31
Zack Swanwick
218
+2
70
-2
73
+1
75
+3
T31
Ian Gilligan
218
+2
71
-1
72
E
75
+3
T57
Jack Turner
221
+5
74
+2
74
+2
73
+1
Team Leaderboard
Place
Team
Total
RD 1
RD 2
RD 3
1
Auburn
854
-10
286
-2
282
-6
286
-2
2
Arizona State
858
-6
286
-2
277
-11
295
+7
3
Oklahoma
861
-3
280
-8
286
-2
295
+7
4
Florida
863
-1
285
-3
286
-2
292
+4
T5
Oklahoma State
869
+5
293
+5
285
-3
291
+3
T5
Texas
869
+5
285
-3
291
+3
293
+5
7
Florida State
873
+9
285
-3
290
+2
298
+10
T8
Texas Tech
876
+12
292
+4
298
+10
286
-2
T8
Texas A&M
876
+12
297
+9
291
+3
288
E
T8
Ole Miss
876
+12
293
+5
287
-1
296
+8
11
Virginia
877
+13
299
+11
287
-1
291
+3
12
Brigham Young
878
+14
289
+1
300
+12
289
+1
T13
Vanderbilt
879
+15
294
+6
294
+6
291
+3
T13
Pepperdine
879
+15
293
+5
294
+6
292
+4
T15
Georgia Tech*
881
+17
293
+5
294
+6
294
+6
T15
Wake Forest*
881
+17
296
+8
292
+4
293
+5
-Top-15 Cut -
17
California
884
+20
289
+1
295
+7
300
+12
18
Illinois
887
+23
286
-2
297
+9
304
+16
19
South Carolina
890
+26
302
+14
293
+5
295
+7
T20
UCLA
894
+30
301
+13
297
+9
296
+8
T20
Tennessee
894
+30
304
+16
296
+8
294
+6
22
Georgia
895
+31
291
+3
306
+18
298
+10
T23
UNLV
896
+32
299
+11
300
+12
297
+9
T23
Colorado
896
+32
289
+1
298
+10
309
+21
25
USF
897
+33
293
+5
309
+21
295
+7
26
New Mexico
900
+36
297
+9
305
+17
298
+10
27
Purdue
901
+37
307
+19
294
+6
300
+12
28
Augusta
903
+39
295
+7
310
+22
298
+10
29
Troy
906
+42
292
+4
308
+20
306
+18
30
San Diego
919
+55
294
+6
316
+28
309
+21
NCAA TOURNAMENT
GAINESVILLE SUPER REGIONAL GAME 3 (UF RELEASE)
Chris Harry / Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Freshman outfielder Taylor Shumaker hit the second of Florida's two fifth-inning home runs, with her blast tying the single-season school record for both homers and RBI, but of far more significance helping send the third-seeded Gators to the 2025 Women's College World Series with a 5-2 victory Sunday over rival Georgia in their decisive third game of the Gainesville Super Regional at Pressly Stadium.
Shumaker's two-run blast, her 22nd of the season, came two batters after senior shortstop Rylee Holtorf clubbed a two-run shot that turned what was a precarious 1-0 lead to start the inning into a 5-0 cushion. That was a big relief for the home team and its fans, who not only had to sit through a 71-minute weather delay in the middle of the fifth but also endure the first four innings when the Gators stranded 10 base runners in a one-run game.
With a comfortable lead, sophomore Keagan Rothrock (16-6) put the finishing touches on the Bulldogs. After facing just two batters over the minimum through six innings, Georgia got a pair of runs in the seventh on a two-run homer by Jaydyn Goodwin with nobody out. Rothrock, though, responded by getting three outs over next four batters to send UF to its second straight WCWS and its 13th in 20 seasons under Coach Tim Walton.
A finalist for NFCA Freshman of the Year, Shumaker started the scoring with a RBI single in the first inning. Her homer tied the single-season mark held by Brittany Schutte (2011) and also gave her 83 RBI on the season, tying the single-season mark set last year by Jocelyn Erickson. Shumaker will have at least two more games to break both records; in Oklahoma City, no less.
The first inning was a combination of Game 1 UF and Game 2 UF. The Gators, who jumped on the Bulldogs for a 3-0 lead in the series opener, took a 1-0 lead on Shumaker's single to center, then loaded the bases with nobody out and clean-up batter Erickson stepping to the plate. Erickson, though, lined hard to second, with Shumaker picked off for a double play. The next two UF hitters reached base to reload the bases, but Mia Williams grounded out to end the inning and strand three more runners after the team left 13 on in Game 2. The Bulldogs, who yanked starter and Game 2 winner Lilli Backes (16-11) for Randi Roelling after just three batters, escaped the inning down just 1-0.
Much to the frustration of the home crowd, it was rinse and repeat in the second through fourth innings. UF left two more on in the second, the bases loaded again in the third and after a 71-minute weather delay got the first two batters on in the fourth only to see the meat of the order -- Erickson, Reagan Walsh and Korbe Otis, the 3-4-5 hitters -- go down on infield pop-ups.
The fifth inning did not follow suit.
Holtorf, the No. 9 hitter, snapped her 1-for-12 slump for the NCAA Tournament by parking her sixth homer of the season to give UF some breathing room at 3-0. After Falby drew a two-out walk, Shumaker crushed her homer well over the right-field fence to go up 5-0.
Rylee Holtorf unloads for her fifth-inning homer.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Holtorf's home run broke the seal for an offense that had scored just two runs through 11.2 innings over the previous two games and had left 23 runners on base. The transfer from Washington came to the plate hitting .083 in the six tournament games.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Shumaker, hitting .389 on the season, will be a marquee attraction in her first appearance in her sport's grand spectacle at OKC.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators improved to 7-1 all-time in Super Regional Game 3s, with all but one of those series coming at home.
UP NEXT: Florida (48-15) will open the WCWS Thursday against sixth-seeded Texas (51-11), which defeated Clemson 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.
SENDING OFF THE GATORS: Florida softball fans are invited to cheer on the team at an official send-off event on Monday at 11 a.m. at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, where the Gators will depart for Oklahoma City.
QUOTES
Coach Tim Walton
* (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. 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. 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."
* (On Shumaker's 3-for-3, 3-RBI performance after going 0-for-4 in Saturday's loss): "If she would have taken the collar today, she would have been o-fer for the series. That's never happened for her, I would imagine. But she had four walks in the first game [Friday]. I don't think that frustrated her. Just the fact that [Saturday] she had so many opportunities to deliver 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. … 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 coming up with the 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 Holtorf turning the line up and the top of the 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."
