Softball On SI

Keagan Rothrock Returns from Injury, Leads No. 4 Florida to Shutout Win Over Auburn

Keagan Rothrock returned from injury and delivered a strong performance, helping No. 4 Florida secure a shutout victory over Auburn.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Florida Gators pitcher Keagan Rothrock (7) pitches during the SEC softball tournament championship game at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Florida Gators defeated the Missouri Tigers 6-1.
Florida Gators pitcher Keagan Rothrock (7) pitches during the SEC softball tournament championship game at Jane B. Moore Field in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Florida Gators defeated the Missouri Tigers 6-1. | Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida has clearly been on the nation's best teams and they have been playing without ace Keagan Rothrock since Feb. 22.

The exact injury Rothrock has been dealing with is unknown. Head coach Tim Walton only said it was day-to-day when asked about her.

Rothrock didn't appear to have any lingering side effects when she shut out the Auburn Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Jane B. Moore Field. Backed by her team's offense, the Gators rolled to a 10-0 win in six innings.

"Absolutely amazing," Rothrock said during her postgame interview when asked how it felt to get back in the circle. "I missed it, and I just love my team so just having the ability to come back and be able to play with them again and be with them is just absolutely awesome."

The sophomore improved to 9-1 after pitching 4.2 innings of shutout ball. She limited the Auburn offense to four hits and struck out seven while walking one.

Rothrock's velocity appeared normal and in the upper 60s and landed 56 of her 90 pitches for strikes.

"I don't feel like I missed a beat," Rothrock added. "Everything was kind of just firing on all cylinders so I was just able to settle in pretty quick. Obviously, my defense picked me up, and the offense picked me up on the other side, so I didn't really feel like I had trouble settling in a whole lot."

Florida secured a series win with the victory and improved to 32-5 on the season and 5-3 in SEC play.

The Gators have now won 20 games via the run-rule, and Rothrock couldn't be happier to be in the circle with such a high-scoring lineup supporting her.

"We have speed, small ball, long ball, I think there's just so many different things that make them so potent. Obviously, with everybody in our lineup is able to do so many different things, it's so hard to pitch to them. Even in practice, it's so hard to pitch to them, but it also makes them so much fun to watch."

Kendra Falby, Korbe Otis and Rylee Holtorf each had two hits in the win. Holtorf's two-run home run in the second inning proved to be the difference maker for the Gators.

Florida and Auburn will play their series finale Sunday at noon ET.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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