Florida Softball steamrolls its way through the weekend and sweeps Kentucky

One of the early narratives for Florida Softball in 2024 was whether or not it could hit Power Five pitching. The Gators were clobbering mid-major pitching, but had scored just five runs total through its first five games against Power Five opponents.

Those concerns seem to be dissipated as the Gators put up 26 runs over three games against top 25 Kentucky en route to a three-game sweep over the Wildcats.

Florida Softball: Here Kitty Kitty

We noted in our preview of the series that Kentucky was far from an elite pitching team and Florida was quick to take advantage. In all three contests over the weekend the Gators put up at least one run in the first inning and had at least three runs by the third inning in all three games.

The true fireworks were in the third inning of game one, where Florida had fallen behind 2-1. Reagan Walsh hit a grand slam to launch the Gators into a 6-2 lead, She would be followed by Ariel Kowalewski and Mia Williams hitting solo shots and by the time the inning was done the Gators were up 10-2 and cruised home for the run rule win.

Game two was more of the same with Walsh, Williams, and Baylee Goodard all hitting homeruns, the final of which ended the game in the sixth inning on a 9-1 mercy rule.

Game three wasn't a mercy rule, but was also never in doubt. Florida was up 5-0 by the end of the second and a Skylar Wallace home run in the 6th made it the final score of 7-1.

With the sweep, the Gators move to 29-4 overall and 5-1 in SEC play. The Gators are in an early log jam with Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Georgia for the top spot in the conference.

Up next for the Gators are Mississippi State, who are 24-7 on the season and are coming off a series win over 18th ranked Arkansas.