It’s tough enough to win at the Women’s College World Series under normal circumstances, but it’s nearly impossible when a team can’t muster up a run for 10 innings.
After being shut out in the first round in Oklahoma City, Florida softball fell to the Tennessee Volunteers, 11-3, in ugly fashion.
The Vols plated seven in the opening frame and quickly met the requirements for a run-rule victory. Florida fought back in the fourth a bit, but the shock that came with the first-inning collapse was too much to overcome. Tennessee added the run it needed back after Florida scored three, and the game ended after five innings.
Seniors Brooke Barnard, Kendra Falby, Kara Hammock, Rylee Holtorf, Korbe Otis and Reagan Walsh’s played their final game with the Orange and Blue.
A play-by-play live blog of each inning can be found below.
What channel is Florida vs Tennessee on today?
Florida vs Tennessee will be broadcast nationally on ESPN on Friday, May 30. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
WCWS schedule 2025 for Friday, May 30
* All times ET
Florida vs Texas time today
The Florida vs Tennessee game starts at 7 p.m. ET at Devon Field in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Friday, May 30.
* All times ET
First Inning: Tennessee 7, Florida 0
Two of the first three batters Florida sent to the plate in the first walked, but neither scored thanks to a pair of strikeouts at the hands of Karlyn Pickens.
Tennessee scored six runs before recording an out, and that out brought in one more. Katie Hammock got the start for Florida and never recorded an out. It started with a leadoff triple that hit the chalk in front of first base and snuck over the bag before rolling into the right field corner. Florida challenged the fair call, but there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn anything, and then Tennessee rattled off three straight singles.
Ava Brown took over, and Hammock moved to the designated player spot. Brown walked in a run, gave up an RBI single and saw the bases cleared on a double before getting that first out, a sacrifice fly no less. Another base hit ended up being harmless thanks to a double play, but things are looking grim.
Second Inning: Tennessee 9, Florida 0
With a big lead established, Tennessee opted to remove Pickens and turn to Sage Mardjetko. Florida might have taken it as a sign of disrespect, but they didn’t do anything about it. Mia Williams, Brown and Kenleigh Cahalan went down in order. Brown took a ball for a ride into foul territory, but those don’t count on the scoreboard.
Brown got the first two outs in the bottom of the second fairly quickly, but Sophia Nugent and McKenna “Boo” Gibson hit back-to-back homers to knock her out of the game. Katelynn Oxley took over to get the third out. Tennessee now has the run-rule in play with one to give.
Third Inning: Tennessee 10, Florida 0
Florida went down 1-2-3 for the second inning in a row. The Gators have two more tries to plate three runs and extend the game, but this thing might be out of reach already. The bats are acting like it is, but they’ve also been cold all series.
A pair of innings from the right side of Florida’s infield compounded led to another run scoring. The first came from second baseman Mia Williams, and shortstop Rylee Holtorf had the other — although it should have been attributed to Reagan Walsh who missed the catch at first.
Fourth Inning: Tennessee 11, Florida 3
After 10 innings of scoreless ball at the Women’s College World Series, Florida finally scored a run. Jocelyn Erickson got hit by a pitch, and Tennessee challenged it thinking she leaned in. A review granted Erickson the bag, though. Reagan Walsh and Korbe Otis went back-to-back over the outfield wall, cutting a 10-run deficit to seven and getting out of run rule territory. Walsh battles off eight pitches and hit a foul-ball homer before going dead center for her shot. Otis went to center as well, just sneaking a line drive over the wall.
Tennessee switched pitchers after that, turning to Erin Nuwer, who retired three in order.
Tennessee put the run rule back into play with a two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth.
FINAL (5): Tennessee 11, Florida 3
With the run rule in effect, Florida came up looking for just one run in the fifth. It never came.
Taylor Shumaker extended the inning with a two-out single, but Erickson grounded out to end the game.
Florida ends the 2025 season 48-17 (14-10) and as one of the final eight teams remaining.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Women’s College World Series: Florida eliminated by Tennessee
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
