University of Georgia Athletics
Saturday, May 2
Athens, Ga.
12:00 p.m.
University of Georgia
36-17, 12-12
9
vs
1
Florida
47-9, 17-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
Novickas Grand Slam Lifts Georgia to Series Win over No. 8 Florida
May 02, 2026 | Softball
ATHENS, Ga. – Freshman Gabi Novickas' walk-off grand slam gave the No. 14 Georgia Bulldogs a 9-1, five-inning, run-rule win over No. 8 Florida on Saturday afternoon in their home finale at Jack Turner Stadium to clinch the series. Georgia improves to 36-17 (12-12) on the season, and the Gators move to 47-9 (17-7).
SOFTBALL | vs. No. 8 Florida | W, 9-1 (5 inn.)
Winning Pitcher: Randi Roelling (16-9)
Losing Pitcher: Keagan Rothrock (26-6)
Fast Facts:
Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin
Opening Statement...
"I thought the crowd was just amazing and so supportive and gave our team such a boost. We played with just a great sense of urgency, competitiveness and joy. It starts with Randi [Roelling] in the circle. She reminds me of Christie Hamilton, who was that pitcher that kind of made Georgia Softball with her energy and competitiveness. Randi reminds me a lot of Christie. Then, I just thought we kept working our at-bats. That second time through the order, we made a lot of really good adjustments and really proud of the overall weekend. You get a series win against them. That's our first one since 2018 in the regular season [at home]. You have got to go get it. They're not going to give you very many of them. I'm just really proud of the way that we came out on senior day and competed and just played Georgia Softball."
On yesterday's win carrying into today...
"The message that we've been using a lot over the course of the season is taking in data and not damage. Keep learning the lessons without the emotional cost of the outcomes or failure. Yesterday, they embraced the fact that, 'Hey, we went at it a little bit different,' the back half of that game, in terms of our energy and our urgency. They carried that forward into today. I can do all the 'rah-rah' stuff that you want. At the end of the day, the players have to decide that they want to commit that. They certainly did. If we can keep that going, we're going to be a handful as we finish things up."
#32 Gabi Novickas| Fr. | 1B
On her last hit…
"It was so insane. My first two at-bats were just kind of working counts and just trying to get a good pitch to hit. Going into that last one, bases were loaded, we're up by 5-1 at that point. I just want to get these runs in, so I'm working my hardest. Took a big hit on that pitch, and it paid off."
On the difference between today and yesterday…
"Yesterday, we had that big inning to open up the game. When we had that big inning, it just changed the momentum. We all just really worked together very well. Taking that into today, we knew we could do it. We wanted to do it for our seniors. Randi pitched great. Our defense was great. Everything clicked today."
Up Next:
No. 14 Georgia will now await SEC Tournament seeding for next week in Lexington, Kentucky.
SOFTBALL | vs. No. 8 Florida | W, 9-1 (5 inn.)
Winning Pitcher: Randi Roelling (16-9)
Losing Pitcher: Keagan Rothrock (26-6)
Fast Facts:
- Saturday's game started out recognizing Georgia's seven seniors and graduates. Keirstin Roose, Jaydyn Goodwin, Sarah Gordon, Tyler Ellison, Marisa Miller and Natalie Ray were each honored for their contributions to the Georgia softball program.
- LHP Randi Roelling made the start on the mound going five innings with three hits, one earned run, two walks and five strikeouts for her 16th win of the season.
- Florida scored its lone run in the top of the third frame to open the scoring. Georgia evened the score with an RBI single up the left line from Roose.
- In the bottom of the fourth, Ellison and Gordon each drove runners in before junior Emily Digby lasered a two-run shot to left field to five the Bulldogs a 5-1 lead.
- In the bottom of the fifth inning, freshman Gabi Novickas clobbered her second grand slam of the year to hand Georgia the walk-off, run-rule win.
- Today's game marked the tenth highest single game attendance in program history, with a crowd of 2,280.
- This was the Bulldog's first at home series win against the Gators since 2018, and Georgia moves to 34-50 all-time against the Gators.
Georgia Head Coach Tony Baldwin
Opening Statement...
"I thought the crowd was just amazing and so supportive and gave our team such a boost. We played with just a great sense of urgency, competitiveness and joy. It starts with Randi [Roelling] in the circle. She reminds me of Christie Hamilton, who was that pitcher that kind of made Georgia Softball with her energy and competitiveness. Randi reminds me a lot of Christie. Then, I just thought we kept working our at-bats. That second time through the order, we made a lot of really good adjustments and really proud of the overall weekend. You get a series win against them. That's our first one since 2018 in the regular season [at home]. You have got to go get it. They're not going to give you very many of them. I'm just really proud of the way that we came out on senior day and competed and just played Georgia Softball."
On yesterday's win carrying into today...
"The message that we've been using a lot over the course of the season is taking in data and not damage. Keep learning the lessons without the emotional cost of the outcomes or failure. Yesterday, they embraced the fact that, 'Hey, we went at it a little bit different,' the back half of that game, in terms of our energy and our urgency. They carried that forward into today. I can do all the 'rah-rah' stuff that you want. At the end of the day, the players have to decide that they want to commit that. They certainly did. If we can keep that going, we're going to be a handful as we finish things up."
#32 Gabi Novickas| Fr. | 1B
On her last hit…
"It was so insane. My first two at-bats were just kind of working counts and just trying to get a good pitch to hit. Going into that last one, bases were loaded, we're up by 5-1 at that point. I just want to get these runs in, so I'm working my hardest. Took a big hit on that pitch, and it paid off."
On the difference between today and yesterday…
"Yesterday, we had that big inning to open up the game. When we had that big inning, it just changed the momentum. We all just really worked together very well. Taking that into today, we knew we could do it. We wanted to do it for our seniors. Randi pitched great. Our defense was great. Everything clicked today."
Up Next:
No. 14 Georgia will now await SEC Tournament seeding for next week in Lexington, Kentucky.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Roelling, Randi (16-9)
L: Keagan Rothrock (26-6)
Batting:
2B: Jocelyn Erickson 1
RBI: Jocelyn Erickson 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Taylor Shumaker 1
Batting:
HR: Novickas, Gabi 1 ; Digby, Emily 1
RBI: Roose, Keirstin 1 ; Novickas, Gabi 4 ; Miller, Marisa 1 ; Lindemuth, Bailey 1 ; Digby, Emily 2
SH: Digby, Emily 1
SF: Lindemuth, Bailey 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roose, Keirstin 1 ; Goodwin, Jaydyn 1 ; Gordon, Sarah 2 ; Novickas, Gabi 1 ; Ellison, Tyler 1 ; Miller, Marisa 1 ; Lindemuth, Bailey 1 ; Digby, Emily 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
4
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
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INF/OF
/ SoftballC/UT
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C
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OF
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LHP
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/ SoftballGeorgia Softball vs Florida - Postgame Video Recap
Saturday, May 02
Georgia Softball vs Softball Post Game Highlights
Friday, May 01
Georgia Softball vs Florida - Tony Baldwin - Postgame Interview
Thursday, April 30
Georgia Softball - Senior Feature
Tuesday, April 28