GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2013 In front of 2,525 fans, the eighth-largest crowd in program history, the No. 6\/8 Florida softball team (46-7) closed out its regular-season home schedule with a 4-3 win over No. 10 Florida State (43-8) on Tuesday evening at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.<\/p>\n
A come-from-behind victory, Townsen Thomas<\/a> made an outstanding diving catch in left field to record the final out of the game and seal the win.<\/p>\n The Seminoles scored the first two runs of the game in the top of the second, plating a pair on an RBI single and sacrifice fly.
\nHEAR FROM THE GATORS: FOLLOW THE GATORS
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\nIn the bottom of the third, the Gators tied it up, 2-2, after Taylor Shumaker<\/a> drove in Gabi Comia<\/a> with an RBI double, followed by an RBI single from Townsen Thomas<\/a> to score Shumaker.
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\nElla Wesolowski<\/a> gave Florida its first lead of the game, 3-2, in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single.
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\nFlorida State tied it back up at 3-3 in the top of the fifth with their second sacrifice fly of the night.\u00a0
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\nThen, in the bottom of the fifth, with two outs and runners on first and second, Giulia Desiderio<\/a> pinch hit an RBI single, her first of the season, which proved to be the game-winning run.
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\nKeagan Rothrock<\/a> (25-5) earned the win in the circle, allowing just one unearned run, two hits and striking out a pair of Seminoles.
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\nNOTABLES:
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\n\tAva Brown<\/a> recorded her second multi-hit game of the season, going two-for-two with a pair of singles
\n\tTaylor Shumaker<\/a> recorded her team-high 17th double of the season, matching the 17 she had as a freshman
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\n\t\tHer 17 doubles are the seventh-most in a single-season in program history
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\n\tKenleigh Cahalan<\/a> reached base in all three plate appearances, recording a double and drawing two walks
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\n\t\tThe senior has now reached base in 49 of the Gators’ 53 games (92.5%)
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\n\tOlivia Miller<\/a> made her second start in a row, tossing 3.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits with a strikeout and three walks
\n\tTownsen Thomas<\/a> extended her hitting streak to 12 games
\n\tFlorida is now 30-25 in the all-time series over Florida State and 15-10 against the Seminoles at home
\n\tThe Gators are now 14-1 against in-state opponents this season
\n\tFlorida is 29-1 when leading after five innings
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\nOn today’s win…
\n“Just like last Wednesday, two really good softball games and two really good teams. I thought both games had great crowds and great showings for both teams. It was good for us to get a win like that. I thought we did a really good job and made some good defensive plays, some good pitches and then a couple of timely hits. There’s nothing better than Giulia Desiderio<\/a> coming through at the end in another pinch-hit opportunity. She’s done a really good job at being clutch for us.” – head coach Tim Walton<\/a>
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\nOn the team’s identity…
\n“I think the cool thing is that you get to celebrate Giulia Desiderio<\/a>. You get to celebrate Ella Wesolowski<\/a>. You get to celebrate Kenleigh Cahalan<\/a>. We have a new player of the game almost every other game. Each of them have really just done a great job of not getting too consumed and just playing ball and finding a way to do their jobs and keep getting better at it.\u00a0Townsen Thomas<\/a> is having one of the best freshman seasons. It’s not easy. It’s hard to be a freshman and she’s doing a really good job. She’s getting better and better and better and more confident. It has\u00a0been probably the coolest things to see where Townsen Thomas<\/a> was after the first week of the season\u00a0to where she’s at right now. She’s made probably the biggest jump in all phases of the game.” – head coach Tim Walton<\/a>
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\nOn making the diving catch in left to end the game\u2026
\n“It was awesome. The energy was great in the stadium. The team was really excited and Keagan and Liv pitched an amazing game. I went out\u00a0there just having fun and trying to back them up the best we can and that just ended with a diving catch.” – redshirt freshman\u00a0Townsen Thomas<\/a>
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\nOn how she and the team have continued to develop throughout the season to be successful\u2026
\n“I mean, my teammates they’re awesome. We all work really hard and the coaches prepare us\u00a0for these moments and we’re going to grind it out throughout the rest of the season. With the pitching staff we have, it’s just fun.” – redshirt freshman\u00a0Townsen Thomas<\/a>
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\nOn teammate Giulia Desiderio<\/a> coming through with a pinch hit to score the game winning run\u2026
\n“She’s a great person and a great teammate. All I can say are good things about her. She’s put into those situations a lot in practice, so I think for her, it really just helps her go out into the box and be like ‘Hey, I know I’m going to get this done.’ She has done that every time she’s been put into those situations.” – junior Keagan Rothrock<\/a>
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\nUP NEXT:
\nThe Gators head to Athens, Ga., for their final Southeastern Conference series of the season. Florida will face Georgia in a three-game series from April 30-May 2.<\/p>\n
\nFloridaGators.com<\/a>
\nFlorida Softball on Twitter<\/a>
\nHead Coach Tim Walton<\/a> on Twitter<\/a>
\nFlorida Softball on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n