Although softball should have been the only thing on the Gators’ minds this past weekend, it wasn’t.
Instead, Florida also dealt with the dismissal of three student-athletes, which was announced just before the start of Friday’s matchup with Florida Gulf Coast.
Sami Fagan, Kasey Fagan and Cheyenne Coyle did not suit up to face the Eagles in the Gators’ first NCAA Regional game of the weekend, and FGCU took advantage of UF’s shorthanded roster for its first ever NCAA Tournament victory.
Although coach Tim Walton said there was no doubt the decision to move on without the players was a distraction to the squad, he said the team’s struggles were not caused by the dismissals.
“I don’t think it’s about three people,” he said. “I think it’s about where we were at as a team and how we did offensively and what we can do to get that clutch hit. That’s been the M.O. of our team all year long, finding a way to get the clutch hit. To be honest with you, that stuff right there was happening all season.”
FGCU’s David Deiros believed otherwise.
“I think they missed having Sami Fagan in the lineup to disrupt some things,” Deiros said. “I think offensively it may have made a difference.”
Sami Fagan, the team’s only slap hitter, led the team in batting average (.378) and hits (71) entering the weekend. After usually batting in the leadoff spot, Sami Fagan had to be replaced by Michelle Moultrie at the top of the lineup but Moultrie struggled, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
“(Friday) was a hard day for all of us,” Lauren Haeger said after Saturday’s two victories.
Florida’s challenges would only get more difficult against South Florida in Sunday’s NCAA Regional Championship game.
The Gators were shut out for just the fifth time all year and desperately could have used a deeper bench in the drawn-out pitching duel with the Bulls.
With the game ending in a 1-0 loss, Florida needed some kind of offensive output, which it could have gotten from the team’s third leading home run hitter (10) and RBI provider (34) in Coyle.
But even with the Gators’ earliest exit since 2006, Walton stuck by his decision and even had support from USF’s Ken Erikson who endured a similar situation in 2008 when he had to suspend 13 players for breaking curfew right before the start of the regular season.
“It’s very tough. People are involved,” Eriksen said. “We try to do the right thing. We’re teachers at heart, coaches secondarily. You have to make the decisions long term that are going to benefit your team and also your university. You do what’s right.”
And although doing what was right in Walton’s eyes may have cost him a shot at a fifth straight Women’s College World Series berth and second consecutive championship series appearance, Walton said at least the hardship served as a learning experience for his players and coaches.
“I think it’s a lesson for everybody,” Walton said. “It’s a lesson for me as a parent. It’s a lesson for me as a coach. It’s a lesson for the players and the staff.
“I just try to do the best job I can possibly do and gather everything I can do as a leader. The game — what you do and how you compete — is a life’s lesson for everybody.”
Michelle Moultrie has a slugging percentage over 1.000 for Team USA.
