Softball teams around the country should be taking notes. Coach Tim Walton has built a superpower in Gainesville.
Everyone knows the powerful bats littered up and down the Gators lineup. Kelsey Bruder, Megan Bush, Brittany Schutte and the sizzling Cheyenne Coyle have combined for 69 home runs and have been raking all year for No. 4-seed Florida.
As a team, the Gators lead the country in home runs with 107.
But entering this weekend's Super Regional against Oregon, it won't be the long ball catapulting UF to its fourth straight Women's College World Series — it will be the Gators' newfound short game.
In the elimination game against UCLA on Sunday, Florida scored nine runs in the first inning off two perfect bunt base hits, two hit batsmen, four singles, a fielder's choice and just one two-run round-tripper.
Oh, and six steals.
Florida took full advantage of third-string catcher Grace Murray, swiping 16 bases in two games.
"If we can keep finding a way to keep moving people along the basepaths itís going to take just a single here or an error there to score runs,"catcher Tiffany DeFelice said. "Bunting, stealing, hit-and-runs is going to be huge for us this week."
DeFelice is right.
Before the offensive outburst, the Gators were struggling at the plate. They scored just two runs off one hit in the first game Sunday and left six runners stranded in scoring position. And UF won Saturday's game against UCLA despite scoring four runs off only four hits.
But now that the Gators have developed a potent small-ball approach to go with their backbreaking power, they're going to be nearly impossible to stop.
UCLA coach Kelly Inyoue-Perez admitted as much following Sunday's loss, saying, "We had to throw a no-hitter against them to make sure they werenít going to advance runners."
While Florida wonít be facing a third-string, bullpen catcher against Oregon this week, the strategy will remain the same. The Ducks' catcher, Alexa Peterson, has thrown out just eight of 46 attempted base-stealers this year.
Walton said not to expect as many steals against Oregon, but he did say the small ball is here to stay.
"It opens things up," UF's coach said. "We scored a bunch of runs in that first inning against UCLA. How many of those hits go through the infield with the infield playing back? Not very many."
After getting bounced from the World Series three years running, Walton clearly saw this evolution as a necessity.
Now, the Ducks and Peterson not only have to travel cross-country to play in 90-plus-degree heat, but they must also plan for a team proven it can win in multiple ways.
As a catcher, DeFelice knows how Peterson will feel if the Gators continue streaking from bag to bag without hesitation.
"It's tough, it weighs on you mentally," she said. "That's the difference between a run and an inning being over."
And it could be the difference between a World Series title and yet another close call.
