UF softball clinches series over Texas A&M in walk-off fashion

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – The UF softball team secured its seventh SEC series win this season with a thrilling 9-8 victory over Texas A&M in eight innings.

Freshman Ava Brown pitched her eighth complete game of the season, throwing 149 total pitches and matching her season-high with five strikeouts.

Florida surged to an early lead, scoring eight runs on nine hits by the end of the second inning to take an 8-2 advantage. The first inning saw three RBI doubles from Otis, Skylar Wallace, and Brown. Soon later, Otis smashed a grand slam in the second inning earning her 8th homer of the year. Reagan Walsh added to Florida scoring machine with a sacrifice fly to left field.

Texas A&M gradually narrowed the gap, scoring one run in the third with a solo home run, three runs in the fifth due to a pair of UF errors, and two runs in the seventh with a two-RBI single that tied the game 8-8.

In a dramatic bottom of the eighth inning, the Gators got the offense moving right out of the gate. The inning began with Mia Williams drawing a walk off reliever Emiley Kennedy on a 3-1 count.

As the lineup turned over, Kendra Falby smacked her third hit of the game to center field for a single. Korbe Otis followed with a fourth hit on a hard-hit ball up the middle to load the bases. Despite Kennedy’s subsequent strikeout, sophomore Jocelyn Erickson stepped up and delivered the game-winning RBI single to left field on a 2-2 count, scoring Williams.

The Gators and the Aggies will conclude the series on Sunday, May 5, at 1 p.m. ET, marking the end of the regular season.

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