When the Gators softball team takes the field Saturday it will be playing not only for itself, but also for the future of its program and the reputation of the Southeastern Conference.
In this weekend’s NCAA Super Regional matchup between No. 4 Florida (46-8) and No. 13 Arizona State (44-15), which begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Gainesville, a trip to the Women’s College World Series, conference bragging rights and a legacy of sustained greatness will all be on the line.
But even with all that to be played for, UF coach Tim Walton is energized about achieving a different goal.
“I’m excited about where we’re able to go and I know everybody in the media thinks we’re bound for the World Series and we’re probably looking to win a national championship, but we’re not,” Walton said. “We’re just looking to have fun and go out and take care of business the next game. There’s no pressure on us, we don’t feel the same expectations that everybody else does. We’re just excited to win.”
Although Walton and the team are focused on having fun and taking things one game at a time, they still realize how important this weekend and the last were to the Florida softball program.
The Gators entered this season coming off of back-to-back WCWS appearances, but were still facing questions about if they could maintain that greatness in the post-Stacey Nelson era.
Walton feels those questions have been answered.
“I’m just happy about being able to set goals and achieve regional success,” Walton said. “Moving on to Super Regionals is huge for stability in your program.
“I think I said in the beginning of the year, it’s going to be one of the most important years of our program because of how much success we’ve had in the past and whether or not we’d be able to transition from one pitcher to the other, and I think Stephanie (Brombacher) answered that call.”
While Florida can use this weekend to cement itself as one of the NCAA’s premier softball programs, the SEC can use it to assert itself as the nation’s top conference.
Last season, the SEC accounted for three of the final four teams in the WCWS, but were still unable to come away with the league’s first national championship as Washington pulled through to give the Pacific 10 its 21st title.
The Huskies knocked off Florida last season in the championship series. Washington swept the Gators in the best-of-three series behind dominant performances by ace Danielle Lawrie, who gave up just one earned run in 14 innings of work.
This year, both conferences got seven teams into the NCAA tournament, with six Pac-10 teams and four SEC teams advancing to Super Regionals.
As things currently stand, the Pac-10 has the edge over the SEC, boasting a 19-2 record to the SEC’s 15-6.
But that could very easily change this weekend, as the conferences will collide when Florida takes on Arizona State and Georgia meets California.
If the Gators can advance they will move themselves one step closer to a championship and bring their conference one step closer to national supremacy.
