Katie Kistler goes yard in the UF fifth inning for the decisive (and lone) run in the Gators' 1-0 over Oklahoma State in their 2024 WCWS opener.
Harry Fodder: Kistler It Goodbye
Friday, May 31, 2024 | Softball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY – The coach talked about losing a game that came down to "one big blow." About how "both pitchers were extremely sharp." And how his team had "wasted a pitching gem."
The words came Thursday night from Oklahoma State coach Kenny Gajewski after Florida senior Katie Kistler broke up a no-hitter with a solo homer off All-American Lexi Kilfoyl in the fifth inning that held up for a 1-0 Gator victory in their Women's College World Series opener at rowdy Devon Field. They were basically the same words UF coach Tim Walton used to process his team's 3-0 loss when these same two clubs met back on Feb. 19 at Gainesville. That night, OSU won on a three-run "big blow" by Karli Godwin that spoiled an otherwise outstanding two-hit effort by UF freshman Keagan Rothrock.
This time, it was Rothrock – a far more seasoned version – on the winning end and Kilfoyl, who also gave up just two hits, on the losing side of that big blow.
But this time it was at the WCWS.
Advantage, Gators.
"Kind of an old-fashion softball game," Walton said.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "And That's the Ballgame" recap here]
As games go, yes, it was a prototypical pitchers' duel between Kilfoyl, one of the best in the nation this season, and Rothrock, the 2022 Gatorade National Player of the Year, No. 1 pitching prospect in the nation and now a 31-game winner in her first collegiate season. On Saturday night, she'll be in the circle again when the Gators (52-13) face No. 1-seeded Texas (53-8) and college softball's best offense in a winner's bracket game.
The sterling performance under the most pressure-packed circumstances earned Rothrock, and the Gators, the right to do it all over again.
"Pumped for our program, pumped for our fans," Walton said. "A big-time win."
The two teams combined for just four hits, with Kistler's rocket to lead off the fifth inning proving to be the difference. Before Kistler stepped to the plate, Kilfoyl had faced just two over the minimum, with a pair of walks. Kistler, seventh on the team in average (.294) and homers (4) on the No. 7-ranked offense in the nation coming into the game, worked Kilfoyl to a full count then jacked the 3-2 pitch high and deep over the right-field wall, maybe 10 feet inside the foul pole.
What a moment for the Orange Park, Florida product. She came into the season with only two career homers and 34 RBI, yet found herself circling the bases of college softball's Mecca with her ecstatic teammates waiting at home plate. Katie Kistler
"Honestly, I think I blacked out a little bit. I don't really remember much of that," Kistler said afterward. "All I felt was just straight joy looking at my teammates, everybody jumping up and down. I was happy to do it for my team and Keagan, as well, pitching her butt off."
Rothrock, the starter in all 10 of UF's postseason games dating to the team's run through the Southeastern Conference Tournament, walked a pair in the first inning, but got out of that mini-jam. After that, OSU managed a measly single in the second and another in the sixth. Neither runner reached second base.
And like the last time she faced the Cowgirls, Rothrock (31-7) allowed just the two hits, but none of these were of the "big blow" variety. In fact, Godwin, the Gator-killer from February with 15 homers and a team-best 51 RBI, stepped in with the tying run on first and two out in the sixth. Rothrock set her down on a ground out to third.
"She's been through the gauntlet in the [Southeastern Conference]," Gajewski said of Rothrock. "We got her [before] early. We really didn't hit her great the first time around."
Less so, this time.
Afterward, Rothrock said she used that first meeting (and loss) not as motivation, but as a comfort zone of sorts.
"I think it calmed my nerves a lot just because it was an opponent I'd already seen, batters that I've already thrown to," she said.
FreshmanKeagan Rothrock's 10th consecutive postseason start proved one of her finest of the season in shutting out Oklahoma State and an offense that ranked 26th in the country.
Walton helped on that front too, reminding his players – despite playing on the biggest of stages – it was still just a softball game.
"That settled me down a lot," Kistler said.
To that point, Walton looked back on last week when the Gators weren't all that impressive in needing three games to beat unseeded Baylor in their home Super Regional. They weren't just off on game days, but in the run-up practices to the tournament.
This week, though, Walton said his players were on it. Maybe it didn't show up so on the scoreboard, but credit Kilfoyl (26-4) for that. She was on it, too.
inning that held up for a 1-0 Gator victory in their Women's College World Series opener at rowdy Devon Field. They were basically the same words UF coach Tim Walton used to process his team's 3-0 loss when these same two clubs met back on Feb. 19 at Gainesville. That night, OSU won on a three-run "big blow" by Karli Godwin that spoiled an otherwise outstanding two-hit effort by UF freshman Keagan Rothrock. 
