Advertisement

Florida softball defeats Missouri to win SEC Tournament Championship: Score, highlights from Gators’ win

ehsan kassim, usa today network
·8 min read

Florida softball has joined Alabama in conference lore.

The Gators made history, defeating Missouri 6-1 Saturday in the SEC Tournament Championship Game at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama to claim their sixth SEC Tournament title. This achievement ties them with the Crimson Tide, marking a significant milestone in conference history. It was the 10th conference championship game appearance for the Gators, the second most behind LSU (11).

MORE: Watch the 2024 Women's College World Series with Fubo (free trial)

Mia Williams got the offense jump-started for Florida with a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. All three runs were unearned, as the Tigers struggled in the field with one of their three errors for the game in the inning. Skylar Wallace added a two-run home run in the bottom fifth inning to push the Florida lead to 6-1. Wallace and Williams each had three RBIs, while six different Gators players scored at least once. Wallace's three home runs in the tournament tied the record.

Keagan Rothrock earned her third victory of the tournament, going all seven innings, allowing one earned run and striking out six. Kelly Barnhill was the last UF pitcher to win all three games during the SEC Tournament.

With the victory, Florida has put itself squarely in the mix to host not only a Regional but also a Super Regional. The Gators finished eighth in the SEC last season and were picked to finish seventh in the preseason. Florida finished second in the regular season and won its first SEC Tournament since 2019.

Here are the highlights from Saturday's SEC Championship game for Florida softball:

Florida vs. Missouri softball SEC Tournament Championship Game score updates

All times in Eastern Standard:

7:03 p.m.: Florida has claimed its sixth SEC Tournament Championship and its first since 2019 with a 6-1 victory over Missouri. The six titles tie the Gators with Alabama for the most in conference history. Mia Williams and Skylar Wallace each hit home runs for Florida, while pitcher Keagan Rothrock pitched a complete game and picked up her third victory of the tournament.

The Tigers won three games in four days in the tournament and are likely to earn a top-eight seed in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

6:55 p.m.: The bottom of the Gator's order goes down in order at the bottom of the sixth. Still, UF leads by five heading into the final frame. Florida is three outs away from its sixth SEC Tournament Championship and the first since 2019.

6:48 p.m.: Keagan Rothrock continues her impressive start. Despite back-to-back one-out singles, the freshman worked out of the jam by retiring the final two hitters of the inning to send UF to its final ABs sporting a five-run lead. The Gators can actually end the game with three more runs in the bottom of the inning of by getting three more outs in the seventh and final inning.

Skylar Wallace extends Florida softball lead to 6-1 with home run

6:33 p.m.: For a fourth straight game, Skylar Wallace has gone yard. Wallace took a low pitch and took it to straightaway center for a two-run home run to a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Kendra Falby scored from third on the home run after reaching on a single to start the inning.

6:29 p.m.: Keagan Rothrock gets through another scoreless inning despite a two-out double by leadoff hitter Jenna Laird. Rothrock picked up two more strikeouts in the inning, both of which came with the batter caught looking. Rothrock and the Gators pitching staff are six outs away from an SEC Tournament Championship. It's 4-1 heading to the bottom of the 5th.

6:20 p.m.: Ariel Kowalewski collected a two-out single, but Missouri was able to escape the inning without any more damage. The Gators lead 4-1 heading into the 5th. Keagan Rothrock remains in the circle.

6:06 p.m.: Stefania Abruscato drives in Maddie Gallagher on a sac fly to left field. The score cuts the UF lead to 4-1. Keagan Rothrock works out of the jam with a runner on third and two outs by getting Kara Daly to pop out to the catcher.

Rothrock had an injury scare in the inning when Gallagher lined a ball off her leg and into right field for a single. The trainers came out to look at Rothrock but she continued to pitch and picked up her third strikeout of the game on the next hitter.

5:56 p.m.: The Gators added another run in the bottom of the third inning. Skylar Wallace is called out for touching second on a flyout and then not going back and touching it again before going back to first base. First blunder for UF. Missouri has two fielding errors and a couple of mental errors.

Skylar Wallace plates  Korbe Otis, UF leads 4-0; Missouri makes pitching change

5:50 p.m.: The Gators' offense continues to hum along against a good Missouri pitching staff. Korbe Otis led off the bottom of the third with a triple and scored when Skylar Wallace reached on an error.

Marissa McCann is on to pitch in relief of Laurin Krings. All four runs have been unearned for UF so far.

5:43 p.m.: Interesting half-inning there. It began with Keagan Rothrock picking up her second swinging strikeout on a riseball. But the Tigers got back-to-back hits, including one on a bunt single which almost made it to the outfield. Rothrock induced back-to-back flyouts to get out of the jam. Centerfielder Kendra Falby had a nice leaping grab at the warning track for the second out.

Mia Williams cranks a 3-run home run to put Florida softball ahead 3-0

5:34 p.m.: Nine-hole hitter Mia Williams came to the plate with a .172 batting average. It did not matter, as she hit a 3-run shot to give the Gators a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Williams also had a home run yesterday. Reagan Walsh reached on an E6 to start the inning and Ariel Kowalewski walked with two outs on a full count to bring Williams to the plate.

5:22 p.m.: Six up and six down for Keagan Rothrock, including her first strikeout of the day of Julia Cranshaw on a 1-2 swinging strikeout. Rothrock surpassed 200 innings pitched in the first inning.

5:17 p.m.: Despite a two-out double by Skylar Wallace, the Gators are unable to score in the bottom of the first inning. Jocelyn Erickson grounded out to shortstop to end the threat.

5:10 p.m.: After a lineout, groundout, and flyout, Keagan Rothrock starts her night off with a 1-2-3 inning. If they can score, The Gators have a chance to take an early lead.

4:57 p.m.: Missouri lineup:

  1. Jenna Laird, ss

  2. Alex Honnold, cf

  3. Maddie Gallagher, 2b

  4. Abby Hay, 1b

  5. Julia Crenshaw, c

  6. Stefania Abruscato, dp

  7. Kara Daly, 3b

  8. Claire Cahalan, lf

  9. Kayley Lenger, rf

Laurin Krings (13-7, 2.62 ERA) gets the start for the Tigers.

3:54 p.m: Florida lineup:

  1. Kendra Falby, CF

  2. Korbe Otis, LF

  3. Skylar Wallace, SS

  4. Jocelyn Erickson, C

  5. Reagan Walsh, DP

  6. Ava Brown, 1B

  7. Katie Kistler, RF

  8. Ariel Kowalewski, 3B

  9. Mia Williams, 2B

Freshman Keagan Rothrock (25-6, 2.56 ERA) in the circle for the Gators.

What channel is Duke vs. Florida State on today? How to watch, stream live

Florida will face Missouri on ESPN2. Streaming options include the ESPN app and Fubo, which offers a free trial. Beth Mowins, Michele Smith, Jessica Mendoza, and reporter Holly Rowe will announce the game.

Florida vs. Missouri start time, TV info, location

  • Start time: 5 p.m. ET

  • TV info: ESPN2

  • Location: Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Alabama

Florida vs. Missouri stats

Florida

  • Batting average: .343

  • On base percentage: .454

  • Home runs: 83

  • ERA: 2.89

  • Fielding percentage: .975

Missouri:

  • Batting average: .268

  • On base percentage: .369

  • Home runs: 36

  • ERA: 2.05

  • Fielding percentage: .970

Florida softball schedule 2024

Below are the past five games of Gator's 2024 softball season. For the full schedule, click here.

  • Friday, May 3: Florida 2, Texas A&M 1

  • Saturday, May 4: Florida 9, Texas A&M 8

  • Sunday, May 5: Florida 11, Texas A&M 3, 6 innings

  • Friday, May 10: Florida 9, Georgia 4 (SEC Tournament Quarterfinal)

  • Friday, May 10: Florida 7, Texas A&M 3, (SEC Tournament Semifinal)

  • Saturday, May 11: vs. Missouri (SEC Tournament Championship)

Missouri softball schedule 2024

Below are the past five games of Florida State's 2024 softball season. For the full schedule, click here.

  • Saturday, May 4: Missouri 4, South Carolina 2

  • Sunday, May 5: Missouri 5, South Carolina 2, 10 innings

  • Wednesday, May 8: Missouri 3, Ole Miss 1 (SEC Tournament)

  • Thursday, May 9: Missouri 3, Arkansas 1 (NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal)

  • Friday, May 10: Missouri 2, LSU 1 (ACC Tournament Semifinal)

  • Saturday, May 11: vs. Florida (SEC Tournament Championship)

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida softball vs Missouri: Final score, highlights from SEC Championship