After UF defeated UCF 7-0 in the final game of the Gainesville Regional on Sunday to advance to its seventh NCAA Super Regional in program history, coach Tim Walton took a moment to remember former Gators pitcher Stacey Nelson.
“Every time we go to Super Regionals, I think of her just because she did it first,” Walton said.
When the Gators reached the Super Regionals for the first time in 2007, they rode three shutout performances and two complete games by the three-time All-American pitcher in the regional rounds as they defeated Stetson, Georgia Tech and Texas by a combined 18-0 score.
Seven years later, No. 5-seed Florida accomplished that feat again — shutting out Florida A&M, Stetson and UCF with an aggregate 29-0 score to clinch a Super Regional berth against No. 12-seed Washington that begins Saturday at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
But unlike that 2007 campaign when the Gators had Nelson start all three games and pitch 18.1 of 21 innings, the 2014 Florida team used a different pitcher in each regional contest.
“At the beginning of the year, I thought having three pitchers was going to be a huge advantage for us in a situation like this,” Walton said.
“In this kind of setting, in this kind of situation playing head-to-head with three different opponents, I think it’s a huge, huge advantage to have not just three pitchers, but three quality pitchers.”
Walton gave freshman Delanie Gourley the nod to start against FAMU on Friday, and she responded by pitching UF’s first postseason no-hitter as the Gators cruised to a five-inning, 8-0 victory.
Gourley showed much more command in the circle compared to her last start on April 26 against Missouri — a game where she gave up four runs and was pulled from the circle in favor of Lauren Haeger before the first out of the game was recorded.
In five innings on Friday, the freshman lefty fanned seven of FAMU’s 17 batters to bring her strikeout total to 125 on the season. Gourley’s 1.18 strikeout-per-inning mark is third among all freshmen and 31st in the country.
“Delanie really set the tone for us with that (two strikeout) first inning,” Walton said on Friday. “She really pitched well and I’m proud of her in her first postseason start.”
Senior ace Hannah Rogers followed Gourley’s performance with a six-inning, four-hit shutout Saturday as Florida rolled over Stetson 14-0.
Rogers struck out four batters en route to her 24th win of the season and her 12th career postseason victory.
“I always go out there with a lot of energy,” Rogers said on Saturday. “I’m not trying to change anything. I just want to keep doing what I do out there.”
In her career, the Lake Wales, Fla., native holds the second-highest marks in UF history in wins (121), complete games (102), innings pitched (950) and strikeouts (809).
Junior Lauren Haeger then capped things off for Florida on Sunday by pitching a complete-game shutout of her own in UF’s 7-0 win over UCF.
“Hannah’s lights out. Delanie’s lights out,” Haeger said. “I told myself ‘They did it, so you can, too.’”
The Peoria, Ariz., native struck out five batters in the win and dropped her ERA to a career-best and team-leading 1.57. Haeger also holds the Gators’ best marks in opponent batting average (.178) (UF’s career mark is .174, Haeger is second best all-time) and strikeout-per-walk ratio (3.05:1).
Center fielder Kirsti Merritt feels it’s a benefit that Florida has three different pitchers that can produce in the circle in any given game.
“It’s amazing,” the sophomore said. “I love it whenever we get all three pitchers in there. I like having the different pitches: Delanie’s change-up, Hannah’s drop ball and then Lauren coming out with the hard screwballs.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Delanie Gourley pitches from the circle in Florida’s 2-0 victory against Ole Miss on March 9 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The freshman pitcher tossed the program’s first postseason no-hitter Friday in UF’s 8-0 win against Florida A&M during the NCAA Tournament.
