At
3:19 p.m., the Gators softball team looked doomed.
UF
finished a one-hit performance against UCLA and blew a
seventh-inning lead, falling 3-2 and possibly blowing a chance to
advance to a Super Regional matchup with Oregon.
A
little over an hour later, everything changed.
With one out in the bottom of the first inning of a
regional-deciding game, the Gators led 9-0 off of seven hits en
route to an 11-3 victory and regional title.
Entering the day, Florida needed just one victory over the
defending national champions to advance to its fifth straight Super
Regional. But after a devastating loss, momentum was on the Bruins
side.
The
Gators regrouped, with senior leader Aja Paculba leading the
charge.
The
second baseman credited the turnaround to clubhouse peanut butter
and jelly sandwiches and a quick pep talk.
“I
just looked around, and I told everybody that I didn’t want this to
be my last college game,” she said. “Hopefully that motivated
everybody.”
The
senior’s two hits in Sunday’s second game were part of an offensive
onslaught that saw home runs from Cheyenne Coyle and Tiffany
DeFelice, and four players pick up two or more RBIs.
Florida’s early dominance quickly turned the game into a volatile
affair.
Six
batters (three for each side) were hit in the first three innings,
causing UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez to accuse Rogers of
intentionally hitting her best batters “because of the history of
[UCLA]” and saying the freshman’s actions were “inexcusable.”
“I’m not going to fault her,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “You’re
getting beat. Your season is getting ready to be over. You’re
looking for any mental edge.”
The
coach credited the hit batters to Rogers overthrowing her curveball
on a weekend when she was struggling with her drop-ball — her
dominant strikeout pitch.
After Kelsey Bruder was hit for a second time in the third inning,
umpires warned both sides to not let it go any further.
Paculba said she had never experienced dugout warnings in a
softball game.
The
heat continued when Florida inserted Ellie Langley as a pinch
runner in the fourth while up 9-0. The junior consecutively stole
second and third before Coyle hit a shot to left to create an 11-0
pad.
Inouye-Perez said the move says “a lot about a program.”
“She can be upset all day long, I don’t even care,” Walton said.
“I’m trying to win a ballgame.”
Steals were the cornerstone of UF’s offense all weekend once UCLA’s
starting catcher Alyssa Tiumalu went down with a knee injury.
The
move forced the Bruins to use senior Grace Murray — who had never
had a collegiate at-bat or appearance at catcher before Saturday —
behind the plate.
Florida stole a total of 21 bases over three games against UCLA.
The Gators averaged just 1.21 stolen bases per game during the
season.
“I
tip my cap to the fact that they can get on and they can steal off
of my bullpen catcher,” Inouye-Perez said. “Good for them.”
Bruins pitcher Donna Kerr contained the Gators in the first game of
the day, giving up her only two runs on a sacrifice fly by
DeFelice, which was accompanied by an error.
However, by the second game, Kerr was noticeably fatigued and
failed to make it past the first out of the game.
“She was wobbly,” Walton said.
Meanwhile, Rogers punched-out seven Bruins batters, making UCLA the
first defending national champion to not return to the Women’s
College World Series in five years.
The
setback did not seem to humble the Bruins.
“I
think player for player, program for program, we’re the better
team,” junior Andrea Harrison said.
