Taylor Shumaker scored the game-winning run.
Softball Walks Off Mississippi State to Secure Weekend Series
Sunday, April 5, 2026 | Softball
GAINESVILLE, Fla - The No. 5/7 Florida softball team (36-5, 11-4 SEC) secured the weekend series over No. 13/16 Mississippi State (33-9, 5-7 SEC) in walk-off fashion on Sunday afternoon, downing the Bulldogs, 5-4, with an RBI fielder's choice at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
With the win, the Gators have now won four straight series over the Bulldogs going back to 2019.
After holding Mississippi State scoreless in the first, the Florida offense struck first in the home side of the inning, with Kenleigh Cahalan driving in Taylor Shumaker with an RBI double.
The Bulldogs responded with a solo home run in the top of the second to tie it up at 1.
The Gators put up a three-spot in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs on three hits, two Bulldog fielding errors and a walk to take a 4-1 lead.
Back-to-back Mississippi State solo home runs in the top of the third made it a 4-3 game, which it remained until the top of the seventh.
After a leadoff walk for the Bulldogs, followed by a wild pitch and a ground out to put a runner on third, Mississippi State tied it up with a one-out RBI sacrifice fly.
Shumaker opened the seventh-inning rally with a full count hit by pitch, followed by back-to-back singles from Cahalan and pinch hitter Giulia Desiderio to load the bases.
Townsen Thomas drove in the winning run with an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Shumaker.
In the circle, Keagan Rothrock (19-4) earned her second win of the series in her second complete-game performance of the weekend.
She allowed just four runs in 14 innings of work on the weekend with six strikeouts, limiting her free pass to just two walks and one hit by pitch. The junior righthander is 8-3 in SEC play.
NOTABLES:
On what it felt like to drive in the winning run…
"It was awesome. My teammates did an amazing job getting on base and getting runners into scoring position and we just found a way." – redshirt freshman Townsen Thomas
On what her first at-bat after her injury on during Friday's game felt like…
"That was probably one of the more surreal moments I've ever experienced in my career. I really felt the love. I needed the love in that moment and it felt good to feel that support from the crowd. And then after the game I texted my teammates and told them that moment doesn't happen without all of them. This entire journey has required all of us, not just me, so being able to feel like I was enjoying that moment with everyone was definitely the best part." – junior Ava Brown
On rebounding this week after last weekend's series loss…
"After last weekend, we knew we had to regroup. We had to adjust the plan. Really, we just had to get back on track. We didn't play our best last weekend. Coach even said we didn't necessarily play our best this weekend, but we found a way to win. And if anything, this is just going to be a stepping stone for us. So being able to keep our game plan, but also adjust when needed, and being able to accept the failure and being able to handle the losses is important. We wanted to turn those losses into a positive thing, which is what we showed we could do this weekend."- junior Ava Brown
On his overall thoughts about the series and Sunday's win…
"The last three series in a row have felt like Super Regional games. You get to the last batter to determine the series. I thought we overcame a little bit of adversity late and did a really good job. Keagan gave up a couple of home runs, but, like I said to her, she didn't give up a ton of hits, didn't give up a lot of walks and didn't have any extra outs. Typically, solo home runs don't lose you games. I thought overall we did a good job against a good club." – head coach Tim Walton
UP NEXT:
The Gators host USF on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
FloridaGators.com
Florida Softball on Twitter
Head Coach Tim Walton on Twitter
Florida Softball on Facebook
With the win, the Gators have now won four straight series over the Bulldogs going back to 2019.
After holding Mississippi State scoreless in the first, the Florida offense struck first in the home side of the inning, with Kenleigh Cahalan driving in Taylor Shumaker with an RBI double.
The Bulldogs responded with a solo home run in the top of the second to tie it up at 1.
The Gators put up a three-spot in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs on three hits, two Bulldog fielding errors and a walk to take a 4-1 lead.
Back-to-back Mississippi State solo home runs in the top of the third made it a 4-3 game, which it remained until the top of the seventh.
After a leadoff walk for the Bulldogs, followed by a wild pitch and a ground out to put a runner on third, Mississippi State tied it up with a one-out RBI sacrifice fly.
Shumaker opened the seventh-inning rally with a full count hit by pitch, followed by back-to-back singles from Cahalan and pinch hitter Giulia Desiderio to load the bases.
Townsen Thomas drove in the winning run with an RBI fielder's choice, scoring Shumaker.
In the circle, Keagan Rothrock (19-4) earned her second win of the series in her second complete-game performance of the weekend.
She allowed just four runs in 14 innings of work on the weekend with six strikeouts, limiting her free pass to just two walks and one hit by pitch. The junior righthander is 8-3 in SEC play.
NOTABLES:
- The Gators now have four SEC series victories: vs. Kentucky, Missouri, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 13/16 Mississippi State
- With Kenleigh Cahalan's double in the first, four different Gators now have double-digit doubles this season: Taylor Shumaker (11), Gabi Comia (11), Cahalan (10) and Kendall Grover (10)
- Cahalan's RBI double brought her to 49 RBIs on the year, matching her single-season career best which she set as a junior in 2025
- Cahalan went a team-best 2-for-4 at the plate on Sunday, her 13th multi-hit game
- Ava Brown made her first start since suffering an injury on Feb. 26 vs. Cal as Florida's designated hitter
- The junior went 2-for-4 with a walk in the series
- Ella Wesolowski made her first start of the season in right field, Shumaker made her first start of in center field and Townsen Thomas made her first start in left field
- Jocelyn Erickson drove in a team-best four in the series off a three-run home run and a sacrifice fly
- Giulia Desiderio recorded her first hit of SEC play as a Gator in the bottom of the seventh
- In her two plate appearances as a pinch hitter in conference play, Desiderio has drawn a walk and recorded a single
- Florida is now 28-2 in games where they score first and 18-2 when they score in the first inning
- For the fourth-straight SEC series, the Gators did not commit a fielding error
- Over the past 10 games, the Florida infield has turned six double plays
On what it felt like to drive in the winning run…
"It was awesome. My teammates did an amazing job getting on base and getting runners into scoring position and we just found a way." – redshirt freshman Townsen Thomas
On what her first at-bat after her injury on during Friday's game felt like…
"That was probably one of the more surreal moments I've ever experienced in my career. I really felt the love. I needed the love in that moment and it felt good to feel that support from the crowd. And then after the game I texted my teammates and told them that moment doesn't happen without all of them. This entire journey has required all of us, not just me, so being able to feel like I was enjoying that moment with everyone was definitely the best part." – junior Ava Brown
On rebounding this week after last weekend's series loss…
"After last weekend, we knew we had to regroup. We had to adjust the plan. Really, we just had to get back on track. We didn't play our best last weekend. Coach even said we didn't necessarily play our best this weekend, but we found a way to win. And if anything, this is just going to be a stepping stone for us. So being able to keep our game plan, but also adjust when needed, and being able to accept the failure and being able to handle the losses is important. We wanted to turn those losses into a positive thing, which is what we showed we could do this weekend."- junior Ava Brown
On his overall thoughts about the series and Sunday's win…
"The last three series in a row have felt like Super Regional games. You get to the last batter to determine the series. I thought we overcame a little bit of adversity late and did a really good job. Keagan gave up a couple of home runs, but, like I said to her, she didn't give up a ton of hits, didn't give up a lot of walks and didn't have any extra outs. Typically, solo home runs don't lose you games. I thought overall we did a good job against a good club." – head coach Tim Walton
UP NEXT:
The Gators host USF on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
FOLLOW THE GATORS
FloridaGators.com
Florida Softball on Twitter
Head Coach Tim Walton on Twitter
Florida Softball on Facebook
Players Mentioned
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/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
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OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
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