Tim Walton explains Florida wearing orange pinstripes in back-to-back WCWS elimination games

Florida appears to be going with the “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” motto at the Women’s College World Series. The Gators are wearing orange pinstripe jerseys for the second consecutive day in an elimination game against Oklahoma.

The Gators scored 9 runs in a win over the Sooners on Monday in the jerseys and are wearing them again on Tuesday.

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Florida softball coach Tim Walton joined ESPN during the game and explained why.

“Well, I can confirm that the Florida Gators have about eight or nine different uniform combinations that we can unveil at any time in the season,” Walton said. “They’ve chosen to wear this pinstripe jersey a couple of days in a row. We’re not just a one-uniform team. We’ve got quite a bit of swag, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to go with what works.”

According to an ESPN graphic, in non-pinstripe uniforms at the Women’s College World Series, Florida is hitting .086 with one run scored. In the pinstripes, the Gators are batting .311 with 20 runs scored.

While the pinstripes might have brought a bit of good luck on offense for Florida, it’s pitcher Keagan Rothrock who has kept Florida in the game by being solid on the mound.

Rothrock improved to 33-8 by earning the win over Oklahoma on Monday, and she has helped the Sooners to a 5-4 lead on Tuesday. Walton shared what he has seen from his pitcher.

“At the end of the day, it’s about location and change of speed,” he said. “She’s got to do a really good job of being able to keep the ball in and out of the zone. A few of the rise balls that she has thrown, they’ve found a way to get on top and are hitting the ball hard to the pull side. So we’ve got to be able to combat that a little bit with a little lower rise inside, make them jam themselves up a tiny bit.

“But at the end of the day she’s a competitor. I’m so proud of the way she’s been able to really bare the brunt of our innings, especially here in our postseason run. She’s done a fantastic job.”

Oklahoma has scored thanks to a pair of two-run home runs with one coming by Ella Parker and the other by Cydney Sanders.