Florida’s Keagan Rothrock returns from injury, helps shut out Auburn

Florida has been seen as a Women’s College World Series contender all season. While the Gators still have one of the strongest lineups in the nation, questions emerged as ace Keagan Rothrock had been sidelined with an injury since February 22.

Head coach Tim Walton had called the sophomore day-to-day for the past few weeks. Well, Saturday was the day. Rothrock returned to the circle to face Auburn.

The righty didn’t take long to look like herself, striking out a pair in the second inning. She exited in the sixth after throwing 90 pitches. Rothrock had her normal velocity, coming in around the mid-high 60s, and the results were good, too.

Rothrock threw 5.1 scoreless innings in her return. She allowed four hits, walking one and striking out seven. The righty barely ran into trouble in the 10-0 win over Auburn. The Tigers put runners at second and third with one out in the fourth, but Rothrock struck out the next two batters.

The Gator bats also kept it easy on Rothrock. Rylee Holtorf gave her an early two-run lead in the second after a two-run homer. Florida also took advantage of 10 walks from Auburn’s pitching staff.

We could see Rothrock again on Sunday, but Florida has a big week ahead. The Gators visit No. 8 Florida State for a midweek matchup before hosting No. 12 Arkansas in Gainesville.

Florida’s victory secured its SEC series of the season as the Gators improved to 32-5 this season and 5-3 in SEC play. The return of Rothrock, however, is by the bigger win toward the Gators’ national championship hopes.

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