Tag: Korbe Otis

Florida’s Tim Walton named D1Softball’s 2024 Coach of the Year

Florida softball’s magical 2024 season ends with head coach Tim Walton taking home the D1Softball Coach of the Year Award.

D1Softball named Florida head coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag] the 2024 Coach of the Year Award on Monday, following a deep run in the Women’s College World Series that ended a win away from reaching the finals.

Although many were upset to see Oklahoma head coach Patty Grasso miss out on the award following a fourth-straight national championship, D1Softball argues that Florida’s transformation over the past year under Walton was more impressive.

Two seasons ago, Florida only had 38 wins. In 2023, they finished with an 11-13 record against the rest of the SEC and were knocked out of the playoffs relatively early in the Stanford Regional.

Walton made a few key additions from the transfer portal — [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] and [autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] — to an already strong freshman class, and Florida went 54-15 (17-7) in 2024. Whether the team building or the actual coaching mattered more is inconsequential. That big of a jump forward deserves some recognition.

Florida is pushing forward at full steam, too. Walton has remained active in the transfer portal this offseason to replace a six-woman senior class, including Gators great Skylar Wallace.

Through 19 seasons as Florida’s head coach, Walton has won 980 games with an 81% win rate.

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Florida softball’s WCWS ends in extras against No. 2 Oklahoma

Florida softball’s magical 2024 season has ended in heartbreak as the Oklahoma Sooners completed a comeback bid in extra innings to advance to the Women’s College World Series Finals.

Florida was four outs away from its first Women’s College World Series Finals appearance since 2017, but the three-time national champion Oklahoma Sooners completed a 6-5 comeback in extra innings to end the Gators’ season in heartbreaking fashion.

Jayda Coleman delivered the knockout blowout, homering to left. Florida left fielder [autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] got to the wall in time and leaped, but the ball was just beyond her reach.

Coleman’s blast was one of six on the day, three of which came from the Orange and Blue. [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] opened up the scoring with a two-run home run in the first, followed by Ariel Kowalewski’s two-run shot in the second.

[autotag]Reagan Walsh[/autotag] drove in the final run of the season for Florida with a solo shot to left in the third. Spirits were high. The Gators had a solid lead with their ace on the mound, but the Sooners kept chipping away at the three-run deficit.

Cydney Sanders homered in the fourth to cut the lead back down to one, and a two-out double in the sixth from Ella Parker ultimately forced extras.

It’s hard to fault Florida’s pitcher, Keagan Rothrock, even though she gave up a walk-off home run to end the season. Rothrock threw 154 pitches in her final outing as a freshman, striking out three and walking five.

The future is bright for Florida with most of the team set to return in 2025, but this is the end of the road for seniors Baylee Goddard, Avery Goelz, Katie Kistler, [autotag]Skylar Wallace[/autotag], Emily Wilkie and Mackenzie Wooten.

Wallace will go down as one of the best to ever wear the Orange and Blue after three straight All-American seasons. She holds several program records.

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Highlights from Florida softball’s Super Regional Game 1 win over Baylor

Here are the top photos from Florida’s Game 1 win in Gainesville on Friday.

The Florida Gators took Game 1 of the 2024 Gainesville Super Regionals on Friday with a 4-2 win over the Baylor Bears. The win was UF’s 12th straight and seventh straight in postseason play, putting the Gators one away from reaching the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

[autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] scored twice — once on a solo homer in the fifth — and [autotag]Katie Kistler[/autotag] had a two-run double in the first to stake host Florida to a lead it never relinquished in this one. [autotag]Keagan Rothrock[/autotag] made her Super Regional debut with a solid effort, giving up two earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five for the first complete game in her last five tries.

Take a look below at highlights from Florida’s first big step toward a national championship title in 2024 after beating Baylor at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

Gators softball beats Baylor Bears in NCAA Super Regionals opener

One more win and Florida will be in the College Softball World Series.

Florida softball took one step closer to a national championship on Friday with a win over the Baylor Bears in the Gainesville Super Regional held inside Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, 4-2.

The win was UF’s 12th straight and seventh straight in postseason play, putting the Gators one away from reaching the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

[autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] scored twice — once on a solo homer in the fifth — and [autotag]Katie Kistler[/autotag] had a two-run double in the first to stake host Florida to a lead it never relinquished in this one. [autotag]Keagan Rothrock[/autotag] made her Super Regional debut with a solid effort, giving up two earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five for the first complete game in her last five tries.

[autotag]Skylar Wallace[/autotag] went 1-for-2 with a walk, making her 13-for-18 in the postseason (.722) while also scoring her 86th run of the season. That run was also the 303rd of her career, making the fifth-year senior the all-time scoring leader in NCAA history.

Florida and Baylor face off for Game 2 on Saturday morning starting at 11 a.m. ET in a must-win game for the Bears. If the Gators prevail, they will punch the program’s WCWS ticket for the 12th time in history — all under Coach [autotag]Tim Walton[/autotag]. Should the Orange and Blue falter, the rubber match will be on Sunday, with the time still to be determined.

Highlights from Florida softball’s Super Regional Game 1 win over Baylor

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Pair of Gators softball players named player of the year finalists

These two Gators are repping the Orange and Blue in the softball realm this season.

The 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year top-26 finalists were announced early on Wednesday afternoon, with a pair of members of the Florida Gators getting the nod for the prestigious honor.

Sophomore [autotag]Jocelyn Erickson[/autotag] and junior [autotag]Korbe Otis[/autotag] were the two members of the Orange and Blue who made the cut after playing all 51 games this season so far. Their team currently holds a 40-12 record overall with a 14-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play, ranked No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll and No. 12 in D1Softball’s tally.

Otis leads Florida with a .440 batting average out of the left field position, giving her the best mark in the SEC and 13th in the nation overall. The Littleton, Colorado, native also ranks third in the conference in runs scored (55) and hits (59) holds top 10 ranks in RBI (40, 9th), triples (3, 8th) and leads the league in walks (44); Otis’ .576 on-base percentage is the best in the nation.

Erickson has proven to be one of the best defensive catchers in the business this season, throwing out 11 of the 15 runners who have attempted to steal a base on her. The Phoenix, Arizona, native also has some pop with the bat, putting up a .398 batting average along with a league-leading 64 RBI — good for sixth-best in the country.

The Top 25 Finalists will be narrowed down to 10 athletes on May 15, followed by the Top 3 Finalists set to be released on May 20. The 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed before the Women’s College World Series, which is scheduled to take place from May 30 to June 7 at the Softball Capital of the World.

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