Florida now has 12 run-rule victories this season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 3 Florida softball team earned its 12th run-rule victory of the season on Wednesday night, downing FGCU, 8-0, in five innings at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
In her Gainesville debut and second career start, freshman pitcher Katelynn Oxley spun a complete-game one hitter, racking up nine strikeouts, a season-high for any Gator pitcher this season.
The performance is the program's 92nd complete-game one-hitter.
Florida (19-1) continued its first-inning dominance against the Eagles, plating three runs on a pair of RBIs from Reagan Walsh and Jocelyn Erickson and a FGCU fielding error to take a 3-0 lead.
The Gators have outscored their opponents 57-5 in the opening frame this season.
Freshman Taylor Shumaker tallied her 11th home run in the second inning, a three-run shot, to give Florida a 6-0 advantage.
Junior Jocelyn Erickson put the Gators in run-rule territory in the fourth inning with a two-run home run, her fifth of the season.
Erickson and Shumaker led the offense with three RBI each on the night.
NOTABLES:
* Senior Kendra Falby extended her on-base streak to 20. She has reached base in every game this season
* Taylor Shumaker leads the team with 10 multi-RBI and 10 multi-hit games. She has 36 RBI, followed by Erickson (28)
* The Gators have hit at least one home run in eight straight games and in 17 of 20 games this season. Florida has slugged multiple home runs in each of its last four games
* The last six Florida complete game one-hit pitching performances have all been by freshmen. Keagan Rothrock threw three last season and Ava Brown threw two. Rothrock threw the last one-hitter on April 14, 2024 vs. No. 14 Missouri
* Florida improved to 5-0 over in-state opponents. The Gators have wins over North Florida, Stetson, Jacksonville, USF and FGCU
* The Gators have shut out opponents nine times
HEAR FROM FRESHMAN PITCHER KATELYNN OXLEY:
On her first career start in front of the Florida home crowd...
"It felt great. There was a lot of good energy, a lot of good energy from the dugout and from the fans. Coach Walton was lifting me up a lot, too. It was just really good to finally get out there and get to do what I love."
On what was going through her head in the circle tonight...
"I feel like throughout the game I got more and more comfortable and I got to feel like myself again. I was definitely hitting the spot more and more as I went, figuring out the umpire's zone. I felt like I got better and felt the energy more as the game went on."
HEAR FROM JUNIOR CATCHER JOCELYN ERICKSON:
On the experience of playing back home in Arizona this past weekend...
"Playing back home was super fun. I was able to see a lot of friends and family that I hadn't seen in a while. It was also super special to play on fields that I grew up going to and watching games at. It was a full-circle moment."
UP NEXT:
The Gators host the Florida Invitational from Feb. 28-March 2, welcoming Samford, Troy, Western Michigan and FAMU to Pressly Stadium.
Florida's first game of the tournament is on Friday at 5:30 p.m. vs. the Bulldogs.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The No. 3 Florida softball team earned its 12th run-rule victory of the season on Wednesday night, downing FGCU, 8-0, in five innings at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
In her Gainesville debut and second career start, freshman pitcher Katelynn Oxley spun a complete-game one hitter, racking up nine strikeouts, a season-high for any Gator pitcher this season.
The performance is the program's 92nd complete-game one-hitter.
Florida (19-1) continued its first-inning dominance against the Eagles, plating three runs on a pair of RBIs from Reagan Walsh and Jocelyn Erickson and a FGCU fielding error to take a 3-0 lead.
The Gators have outscored their opponents 57-5 in the opening frame this season.
Freshman Taylor Shumaker tallied her 11th home run in the second inning, a three-run shot, to give Florida a 6-0 advantage.
Junior Jocelyn Erickson put the Gators in run-rule territory in the fourth inning with a two-run home run, her fifth of the season.
Erickson and Shumaker led the offense with three RBI each on the night.
NOTABLES:
* Senior Kendra Falby extended her on-base streak to 20. She has reached base in every game this season
* Taylor Shumaker leads the team with 10 multi-RBI and 10 multi-hit games. She has 36 RBI, followed by Erickson (28)
* The Gators have hit at least one home run in eight straight games and in 17 of 20 games this season. Florida has slugged multiple home runs in each of its last four games
* The last six Florida complete game one-hit pitching performances have all been by freshmen. Keagan Rothrock threw three last season and Ava Brown threw two. Rothrock threw the last one-hitter on April 14, 2024 vs. No. 14 Missouri
* Florida improved to 5-0 over in-state opponents. The Gators have wins over North Florida, Stetson, Jacksonville, USF and FGCU
* The Gators have shut out opponents nine times
HEAR FROM FRESHMAN PITCHER KATELYNN OXLEY:
On her first career start in front of the Florida home crowd...
"It felt great. There was a lot of good energy, a lot of good energy from the dugout and from the fans. Coach Walton was lifting me up a lot, too. It was just really good to finally get out there and get to do what I love."
On what was going through her head in the circle tonight...
"I feel like throughout the game I got more and more comfortable and I got to feel like myself again. I was definitely hitting the spot more and more as I went, figuring out the umpire's zone. I felt like I got better and felt the energy more as the game went on."
HEAR FROM JUNIOR CATCHER JOCELYN ERICKSON:
On the experience of playing back home in Arizona this past weekend...
"Playing back home was super fun. I was able to see a lot of friends and family that I hadn't seen in a while. It was also super special to play on fields that I grew up going to and watching games at. It was a full-circle moment."
UP NEXT:
The Gators host the Florida Invitational from Feb. 28-March 2, welcoming Samford, Troy, Western Michigan and FAMU to Pressly Stadium.
Florida's first game of the tournament is on Friday at 5:30 p.m. vs. the Bulldogs.
