COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 3 Florida softball team fell in its Southeastern Conference opener on Friday evening as No. 4 Texas A&M walked off the Gators, 3-2, at the Davis Diamond.
The loss snapped Florida's six-game winning streak to the Aggies going back to 2022.
In her SEC debut, freshman
Katelynn Oxley (3-1) pitched a complete game, allowing three runs, two earned, with three strikeouts, four walks and a hit by pitch.
The Gator offense was limited to just four hits in the loss, matching a season-low, with both of Florida's runs coming off a pair of solo home runs.
The Aggies got on the board first with a solo home run in the bottom of the second.
Taylor Shumaker tied it up in the fifth, blasting her 13
th home run of the season, moving into a tie for fourth-most by a freshman in program history.
In the bottom of the fifth, Texas A&M loaded the bases with no outs.
After Oxley struck out the next batter, the Aggies sent a ball that looked to be a grand slam over the wall in center field.
Senior
Kendra Falby robbed the hit before it left the field, relaying it to senior
Rylee Holtorf who sent it to the plate for junior
Jocelyn Erickson, turning the double play.
The Aggies took a 2-1 lead on the play, scoring on what ended up being a sacrifice fly.
Junior
Kenleigh Cahalan leveled up again with a one-run home run in the sixth, her seventh of the season.
In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs, Texas A&M tallied back-to-back hits and plated the winning run on a Gator fielding error.
With the loss, Florida falls to 24-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play.
UP NEXT:
The Gators will look to even up the series with the Aggies on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
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