ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 6/8 Florida softball team (47-8, 17-6 SEC) dropped game two of its three-game series to No. 17/13 Georgia (35-17, 11-12 SEC) on Friday afternoon, 10-9. The Gators will now look to clinch the series on Saturday it their last regular-season game of the season.
The Gators took a commanding 7-2 lead after four innings, but the Bulldogs were able to pull ahead with a seven-run fifth inning to make it 9-7.
Trailing by two, Madison Walker opened the seventh with a base hit before Giulia Desiderio pinch hit and slugged her first home run as a Gator, a two-run shot to left field, to tie it up a 9-all.
Georgia was able to clinch the come-from-behind win with an RBI single to end the game.
Florida recorded eight hits in the loss, with multi-hit games from Ava Brown and Townsen Thomas, who each went 2-for-3 with two RBIs a piece, and Walker who went 2-for-4 with her eighth home run.
Olivia Miller (8-1) suffered her first career loss, pitching 4.1 innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits with a strikeout, a walk and a hit by pitch.
The Gators used six pitchers in the game, Miller, Katelynn Oxley, Allison Sparkman, Keagan Rothrock Leah Stevens and Ava Brown, who made her first appearance in the circle since Feb. 21.
Florida and Georgia will go for the series on Saturday at 12 p.m. on ESPN.
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