For colleges around the nation, the next few weeks are a crucial period in the recruiting season. More recruits are choosing to schedule the majority of their official visits during the summer because most prospects choose to sign their National Letter of Intent during the December Early Signing Period. In addition, a lot of prospects attempt to finalize their decision before the commencement of their senior seasons. This has caused a rush of prospects to commit for the summer. With over a dozen famous faces anticipated in the city this weekend for the first round of official visitors, the Florida Gators will get off to a hectic start to the summer.
An early three-run lead for the Gators ultimately wasn’t enough, as the Oklahoma Sooners rallied from the deficit and punched its ticket to a national-championship series matchup against Texas with a 6-5 victory thanks to Jayda Coleman’s walk-off home run in the eighth inning.
The Gators took the early lead in the top of the first inning when Jocelyn Erickson, the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Year who transferred to UF from Oklahoma, blasted a home run to right, plating a pair of runs for the Gators.
The Sooners, however, would tie the game back up in the bottom of the frame when Ella Parker homered off of Keagan Rothrock with just one out.
Florida reclaimed the lead in the second when Ariel Kowalewski recorded a two-run home run of her own that just narrowly cleared the wall, reinstating Florida’s two-run advantage, and Reagan Walsh’s solo shot in the third gave the Gators a 5-2 lead.
In as many innings, the Gators had a trio of home runs off of a pitcher in Kelly Maxwell who entered the game having allowed just 12 home runs on the season.
