No. 4 seed Florida beat No. 14 Alabama 6-4 on Sunday night to advance to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series and eliminate the Crimson Tide.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Jocelyn Erickson had great success and earned an opportunity with her former team.
Erickson homered and drove in four runs and No. 4 seed Florida beat No. 14 Alabama 6-4 on Sunday night to advance to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series and eliminate the Crimson Tide.
Florida will play three-time defending national champion Oklahoma in the semifinals on Monday. Erickson, a receiver, won a national championship with Oklahoma last season. The Gators will have to beat the Sooners twice to reach the best-of-three championship series, while Oklahoma will need just one win to advance.
“I think it’ll be fun to see some old friends,” Erickson said. “It’s definitely going to be a competitive semi-final, so let’s go for it.”
Erickson broke a tie with Megan Bush for the school’s single-season RBI record and now has 84. Bush set the previous record of 80 in 2011.
Korbe Otis and Ariel Kowalewski each added two hits for the Gators (53-14) in a game that started three hours late due to rain and lightning.
Florida pitcher Keagan Rothrock bounced back from a poor outing against Texas the night before. The freshman allowed three earned runs and seven hits against Alabama and now stands alone as the nation’s leader with 32 wins.
“I think he turned the page,” Erickson said. “She was hitting better, more focused, more determined. It’s a learning curve yesterday. It’s her first year. “I am very proud of her for turning the page.”
Kayla Beaver started for Alabama and allowed two runs and six hits in four innings. Jocelyn Briski suffered the loss in relief for the Crimson Tide (39-20).
The Crimson Tide finished ninth in the Southeastern Conference during the regular season, but won their regional at home and then beat third-seeded Tennessee on the road in the super regionals. Alabama lost its World Series opener to UCLA and then beat Duke to keep the season alive.
“This is a team whose legacy will be that they didn’t give up on each other, they kept working,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “No matter what you do in the regular season, you get a completely fresh start and you can start over. “I think they showed everyone that it’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.”
Alabama opened the scoring against Florida in the second. Bailey Dowling came up after a fielding error and scored on Riley Valentine’s groundout.
Florida tied it in the third when Erickson’s single knocked out Skylar Wallace. Otis scored on a fielder’s choice after following up with a walk to put the Gators up 2-1.
Alabama tied it at 2 in the third when Marlie Giles singled to score Lauren Johnson.
Reagan Walsh singled and scored a run in the fifth to put Florida back in front.
Erickson came up with runners on first and third with two outs in the sixth, and Alabama switched from Briski to Alea Johnson to give it a different look. Erickson took a pitch from Johnson over the center field wall to make the score 6-2.
Alabama held firm. Kali Heivilin’s RBI single in the sixth made the score 6-4. But Rothrock put the Crimson Tide right in the seventh.
Now, the Gators could derail Oklahoma’s attempt to become the first team to win four consecutive national titles.
“I’m excited for the matchup,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “When you come to the Women’s College World Series, you have the opportunity to play against Oklahoma, you’re doing something right. I’m looking forward to it.”
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