{"id":1534,"date":"2026-05-23T21:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T21:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2026-05-23T21:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T21:36:18","slug":"erickson-rothrock-lead-florida-past-texas-tech-force-decisive-game-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1534","title":{"rendered":"Erickson, Rothrock lead Florida past Texas Tech, force decisive Game 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GAINESVILLE \u2014 Florida slugger Jocelyn Erickson emerged from a power-hitting slump to keep alive the Gators\u2019 season and her college career, while forcing a Super Regionals showdown Sunday against Texas Tech for a berth in the Women\u2019s College World Series.<\/p>\n

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Following an hour-long rain delay, the Gators\u2019 senior jumped on the first pitch from Red Raiders\u2019 All-American ace NiJaree Canady as the Gators (52-11) grabbed a 2-0 lead on the way to a decisive 10-2 victory Saturday to even the best-of-three series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were probably only like five minutes into the game at that point\u00a0 and Jocelyn doing that really does set the tone for the game,\u201d first baseman Madison Walker said. \u201cYou see Jocelyn do that, and you\u2019re like, OK, I want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A day after Florida came back from 7-1 down only to lose 10-8, Texas Tech (56-7) could not match the Gators\u2019 offense and mount a comeback against pitcher Keagan Rothrock (30-6). On Friday, Rothrock lasted only four innings in 90-degree temperatures, coach Tim Walton said, and needed two rounds of intravenous fluids \u2014 and other treatments \u2014 to be ready for Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeegan Rothrock puts as much time into her craft as anybody,\u201d Walton said. \u201cShe passed a special milestone, getting to 30 wins. Really proud of the way she takes a lot of pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Canaday (25-6) struggled after leading her team to the WCWS championship series in 2025 as the Red Raiders allowed 14 hits, including two home runs and two doubles.<\/p>\n

Before a national TV audience on ABC and a raucous home crowd at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, Erickson led Florida with a 3-for-5 performance highlighted by her 21st home run of the season \u2014 her first in six games and just her second since April 11 at South Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she gets it right, it\u2019s got a different sound,\u201d Walton said. \u201cIt was awesome to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The All-American catcher also added a RBI single in the third inning after a double by sophomore star Taylor Shumaker, whose 80th run scored tied the school\u2019s single-season record and gave Florida a 3-0 advantage.<\/p>\n

Texas Tech finally broke through with a run in the third inning, but the Gators answered with two more when first baseman Walker launched a two-run homer with two out, ending Canady\u2019s day after another difficult outing in the circle.<\/p>\n

Even after earning the Game 1 victory in relief, Canady has surrendered six runs over 5.2 innings in the series for an 8.07 ERA.<\/p>\n

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The Red Raiders threatened to climb back into the game after trimming the deficit to 5-2 in the fourth inning and loading the bases. But in only her second start in right field this season, Ella Wesolowski tracked down Jasmyn Burns\u2019 deep fly ball at the warning track to end the rally.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJust anything that the team needs, I\u2019m going to do it,\u201d Wesolowski said. \u201cIt was really awesome to make that play for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida then responded with four runs against sophomore reliever Samantha Lincoln, highlighted by a two-run single from shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan with two out. The Gators scored six of their runs Saturday and 14 of 18 runs during the Super Regionals overall with two out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just all go up there and there\u2019s no doubt about us getting on or us scoring runs,\u201d right fielder Ella Wesolowski said. \u201cIt\u2019s just finding a way to get the job done. Just because there\u2019s two outs doesn\u2019t mean the inning\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erickson later popped up with the bases loaded, but Texas Tech managed just one hit the rest of the way as Rothrock went the distance to set up Sunday\u2019s decisive Game 3 in the marquee Super Regional matchup.<\/p>\n

Florida has prevailed during winner-take-all games the past two seasons to reach the WCWS.<\/p>\n

After Walton called his team\u2019s Friday performance \u201cterrible,\u201d the veteran coach had a different message for his players heading into another Game 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can wake up tomorrow morning and have one game to go play in the College World Series, that\u2019s what you guys dream of \u2014 and it\u2019s not a dream,\u201d he recalled. \u201cThis is what it is. The best team is going to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just going to take everybody. One person\u2019s not going to do it. It\u2019s going to take everybody to really work hard and pull together and be confident and just trust your skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s Justice Department scrubs its website of news releases about Jan. 6 defendants<\/a><\/p>\n

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida catcher Jocelyn Erickson homered, pitcher Keegan Rothrock went the distance to force Game 3 against Texas Tech in Super Regionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1533,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-sports","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nErickson, Rothrock lead Florida past Texas Tech, force decisive Game 3 - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=1534\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Erickson, Rothrock lead Florida past Texas Tech, force decisive Game 3 - 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