For Florida and Alabama, March Madness applies to more than just basketball.
“This is how every one of our games has gone with them,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “We’ve never once had a comfortable lead in three years of playing these guys.”
After a pair of wild, come-from-behind wins led to a doubleheader split Saturday, it should come as no surprise that Sunday’s finale was a back-and-forth affair.
When all was said and done, senior Corrie Brooks played the role of unlikely hero as the No. 6 Gators (23-4, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) earned an 11-9 victory to take series with the No. 5 Crimson Tide (24-9, 7-4 SEC) in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Despite entering Sunday’s game 0 for her last 19 at-bats and with only one home run and seven RBIs this year, Brooks carried the load offensively for UF.
She got the Gators their first lead of the game with a third-inning grand slam, then hit a solo shot to lead off the seventh that broke a 9-9 tie and scored the eventual game-winning run.
“It’s something I really needed since I pretty much had zero confidence in myself,” Brooks said. “I tried to do the best that I could and got that confidence back with two big hits.”
With the Gators leading 9-5 in the bottom of the sixth, UF ace Stephanie Brombacher gave up back-to-back doubles that cut the lead to 9-6.
One out and a walk later, Brombacher was pulled in favor of freshman Ensley Gammel, who gave up a home run to the first batter she faced, tying the game at nine.
“I was a little mad at myself but [freshman catcher Brittany Schutte] came out there and told me not to worry about it,” Gammel said. “I just thought that if I got these next two outs I’d be good to go.”
Sure enough, Gammel got the next two outs in order, and after Brooks and freshman Samantha Holle earned UF the lead with back-to-back home runs to start the seventh, Gammel returned to the circle and closed out the game.
