Kistler, Rothrock Earn Florida Gators Opening Win in WCWS

Terrific pitching and a clutch home run were enough to give the Florida Gators the win over Oklahoma State in the Women's College World Series.

Florida Gators outfielder Katie Kistler (29) celebrates after hitting a home run in the Women's College World Series / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

In the bottom of the fifth, Florida Gators softball’s Katie Kistler got a 68 MPH fastball on the inside part of the plate from Oklahoma State pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl. She stayed on the pitch and got her hands through the ball, crushing it to right field. 

She knew she got it right off the bat, putting her right hand up and pointing to the sky while running to first base. When the ball stayed fair and cleared the right field wall, Kistler was yelling with excitement while rounding the bases before meeting her teammates at home plate.

“Honestly, I think I blacked out a little bit,” Kistler said. “I don't really remember much of that, running the bases. All I felt was just straight joy looking at my teammates, everybody jumping up and down.”

KATIE KISTLER!!!

The senior goes yard ✈️

📺 ESPN2 | @katie_kistler07 pic.twitter.com/JM8zp8v7rB

— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 31, 2024

She was the hero for the Gators, as the solo home run was all Keagan Rothrock needed in the circle to give UF a 1-0 win over the Oklahoma State Cowgirls in its first game of the Women’s College World Series. 

Florida will now play the No. 1 overall seed Texas Longhorns Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. 

“​​Pumped for our program, pumped for our fans. A big-time win,” head coach Tim Walton said.”

Coming into the game, Kistler had just a .294 average at the plate and had only hit four home runs on the year. With six players in the lineup hitting over .300, and the SEC Player of the Year in Jocelyn Erickson, Kistler was an unlikely hero. 

But on a night where Kilfoyl was her best, Kistler stunned Oklahoma State fans in the fifth and left it to Rothrock to keep the Cowgirls off of the scoreboard. 

When you know, you know 👆

📺 ESPN2#WCWS x @GatorsSB pic.twitter.com/KQYc9z0sCB

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) May 31, 2024

And unlike their Feb. 19 matchup in Gainesville, where Rothrock made one mistake in a 3-0 loss, she was near-perfect on Thursday. 

She went all seven innings, giving up just two hits and struck out three. 

“I don't really think it's hit yet, honestly,” Rothrock said. “I mean, today's just been about having fun with my teammates and doing everything for each other, just going out there and doing what we do best.”

Back on the Feb. 19 matchup with Oklahoma State, Rothrock surrendered a three-run home run in the third, the only runs scored in the game. And even though she had pitched well otherwise, she wasn’t satisfied with her performance then. 

She got another chance against the Cowgirls Thursday, and there weren’t any mistakes made on the brightest stage. 

“I think honestly it calmed my nerves a lot just because it was an opponent I'd already seen, batters that I've already thrown to,” Rothrock said. “Outside of, I think, the lead-off batter. For me, it was calming my nerves.”

In the top of the fifth, just minutes away from Kistler’s home run, Oklahoma State looked as though it was going to get something going. 

A ball was lasered off of the bat of Lexi McDonald into centerfield. But like she’s done all year, Florida center fielder Kendra Falby made a leaping grab before crashing into the wall. It kept the Cowgirls off of the bases and halted any momentum they were looking for. 

Left fielder Korbe Otis came over and gave Falby a big hug, knowing it was a huge play. 

“Just going out there and being like I'm going to catch every ball,” Falby said. “That's all I was focused on. Like everything kind of just went, sound, and then it was just me and the ball. All I thought about was catching at that moment. I wanted to keep the game 0-0 again for Keagan because she was pitching amazing.”

Florida will now look ahead to face Texas, the No. 1 overall team in the country. The Longhorns opened their WCWS with a win over Stanford 4-0. 

In the regular season and postseason so far, Texas has dominated its opponents. Overall, they’re 53-8 on the year and finished 23-4 in conference play. 

Texas’s entire starting lineup is hitting over .300, and two are hitting over .400. Reese Atwood leads the team offensively with a .430 average. She also leads the team in home runs and RBI with 23 and 90, respectively. 

In the circle, Teagan Kavan is the Longhorns’ go-to pitcher. Thursday, she pitched all seven innings against Stanford, tallying eight strikeouts while giving up just one hit. She has the most innings pitched on the team and leads the staff in strikeouts with 128. 

Mac Morgan and Citlaly Gutierrez have also performed well in the circle. Bot have sub-2 ERA’s with 90 or more innings pitched. 

Although defeating Texas has been a daunting task to opponents all year, Florida has answered every obstacle thrown at them. They’re a gritty team and have never made it easy for opponents to beat them.

And with their most difficult opponent coming up Saturday on the biggest stage, Walton knows the Gators may have to do unorthodox things against the tougher opponents. 

“For the most part, everybody in that dugout looks at me and trusts what we're doing,” he said “Then I think on the flip side of that, what Katie said, we're not doing crazy stuff. We practice a lot of stuff. When you face good pitchers that have All-American in front of their name, you're going to have to sometimes do some things that are maybe a little bit uncomfortable.”

First pitch against Texas is at 7 p.m. on ESPN in Oklahoma City. Florida is now on the winners side of the bracket and will not be eliminated if they lose against the Longhorns.

For Gators fans in Oklahoma City, Softball America, home of Tim Walton's Walton's World Podcast is hosting a meet and greet at Oakley Penn Square from Noon to 4:00 p.m. Central.

Engage in live discussions with softball's leading media personalities, enjoy meet & greets with the sports biggest stars, and take advantage of complimentary hair braiding to perfect your gameday look at Oakley's Glam Station.