Almost exactly a year ago, Jordan Matthews was in Anaheim, California, being helped off the field by her El Dorado High School teammates. A senior at the time, Matthews tore her ACL after hitting a stand-up double in postseason play.
Now a freshman at the University of Florida, she was the one lifting her teammates up.
After fouling off two pitches against Texas A&M pitcher Trinity Harrington with two strikes, two outs and the season on the line with UF down one, Matthews measured up a 2-2 pitch.
Ping.
A drive to left-center field kept traveling until it mashed against the scoreboard. Home run. Three runs score. Gators win.
“I didn’t know it was over until I was halfway to second,” Matthews said.
The freshman outfielder concluded the No. 4 Florida Gators (55-9) 5-3 victory over the No. 13 Aggies (44-18) Saturday night in Gainesville. The game featured two lead changes in the final inning with a moment of magic that sent UF to the College World Series beginning Thursday night in Oklahoma City.
Matthews went 3 for 4 in the contest despite not registering a hit the rest of the series. The difference was her bat.
All season long she used a 34-inch bat weighing 24 ounces. Saturday afternoon, she and Walton decided to up the weight to 25 ounces.
“She’s been using a lighter bat all season because she just hasn’t had her swing right,” Walton said. “We practiced all day long and she felt like she was better.”
Senior pitcher Aleshia Ocasio entered the game in the sixth for starter Kelly Barnhill, who left the bases loaded with no outs and a 2-0 lead after pitching five scoreless innings. She limited the damage, striking out two in relief and only let in one run, which Barnhill was responsible for.
Ocasio worked the Aggies to two outs in the top of the seventh before allowing a single to right fielder Sarah Hudek. The next batter was senior first baseman Tori Vidales, who hit a heroic three-run homer against Ocasio on Friday night to force Game 3. With a 3-1 count, Vidales provided an encore, blasting the ball over the center-field wall to give Texas A&M a 3-2 advantage.
“I should’ve put Kelly Barnhill in the game,” Walton said. “It was a dumb move on my part to put Aleshia back in that same situation.”
A stunned Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium fell silent, aside from the Aggies dugout. However, that would only be the calm before the storm.
After removing Harrington earlier in the game in favor of sophomore Payton McBride, Texas A&M coach Jo Evans made the move Walton didn’t and put her starter back in for the final half-inning.
However, Harrington walked two batters before allowing the critical drive to left-center.
The senior, who pitched in all three games of the series, trudged to the dugout as Matthews rounded the bases and ended up at the bottom of a dog pile at home plate.
“It was one of the best series I’ve been a part of,” UF coach Tim Walton said. “I can’t teach that stuff. That’s just one of those holy sh*t moments.”
You can follow Mark Stine on Twitter @mstinejr or contact him at mstine@alligator.org.
The Florida Gators softball team in front of its newly earned 2018 College World Series sign. UF won on a walk-off home run by freshman Jordan Matthews to send it to Oklahoma City.
