Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Aleshia Ocasio laughed at the suggestion, but only because it was true. She has awakened some mornings this season unsure (or having lost track) of just where she would be positioned on the softball field that day., 

"Sometimes, yes," she said. 

And what about this weekend when the No. 3 Gators (34-2, 10-1) host rival Georgia (27-10, 2-7) in a key Southeastern Conference series and rematch of last year's heartbreaking Super Regional? 

"I have no idea." 

Which is just fine with Ocasio. It was last May, during her exit interview with Tim Walton following the 2016 season, that Ocasio asked her coach for more. More responsibility. More chances in the field. More at-bats. More of everything. After two years of using Ocasio primarily as a pitcher, Walton could sense her determination and desire. He agreed it was time to turn his prodigy loose. 

Now, two-thirds into the 2017 season, Ocasio has started eight games at pitcher, 18 in right field, three at third base, while also taking some reserve innings in left field and even once at second base. Meanwhile, after combining for just 63 at-bats through her freshman and sophomore seasons, Ocasio already has 87 plate appearances in her junior season and ranks seventh on the team with a .310 average. Oh, and after defeating North Florida 5-1 Wednesday night, she's now 7-0 in the circle with a 0.84 ERA. 

For anyone (like Walton) who watched Ocasio as a do-it-all Central Florida club team superstar and as a prep standout at St. Cloud Harmony High, none of these numbers come as a surprise. 

"She's been a very successful player her whole life," Walton said. "Coming into college, everybody who knew her would never once have questioned that she'd be an All-American pitcher, shortstop, hitter, whatever. I saw her and immediately thought, 'This is a special kid,' but I saw more in her pitching than I saw in her offense. That's where I really liked her upside." 

Early on, especially, because that was where the Gators needed her as a freshman. 
 

In 2015, Ocasio went 18-3 with a 2.00 ERA as a collegiate rookie and was called on in Game 1 of the 2015 Women's College World Series championship and proceeded to beat third-ranked Michigan 3-2. She became the first player in the NCAA Super Region era to be a starting pitcher in a title series game without appearing in the Super or WCWS rounds. 

The Gators went on to win a second straight NCAA crown. 

As a sophomore, Ocasio got a bit more action as a hitter, but mostly focused on her work in the circle. Understandably so. All she did was go 22-2, with a 0.77 ERA that rated second nationally, while striking out 147, walking just 23 and garnering first-team All-America and All-SEC honors.

When the season was over, she asked for more. 

"Coming here and embracing a different role was a change for me, but I also wanted to do whatever I could for the team," Ocasio said. "Coming into this year, we had a lot of players who graduated and different holes needed to be filled, so whatever I could do to contribute to the team, wherever I could get in the field, I wanted to do that. I wanted to be a part of that."

It took a lot of hard (and extra) work in the fall, not to mention a lot of organization on the part of the coaching staff.  

"This is by far the most we've asked of Aleshia since she's been here," said assistant coach Jennifer Rocha, who handles the UF pitchers. "It's a tough balance. She has to do a lot of everything to be good at everything she does — and that takes extra time. After she goes through her full repetitions in the outfield, full repetitions in the infield and has gotten her cuts in [at batting practice], I need her complete focus when we're in the bullpen. It's a lot on her plate." 

For more chances at the plate, it's worth it. 

"It just feels good to know I can give back to the team in ways other than pitching," she said. 

Last May 27, Ocasio was on the mound and one strike from sending the two-time defending NCAA champion Gators to a rubber Game 3 of their Super Regional against Georgia — this weekend's opponent — when Kaylee Puailoa lashed a walk-off homer over the center-field fence for a 3-2 Bulldogs victory that ended Florida's season. 

The next day, Walton had his sit-down with Ocasio. One of the first things he talked about was making sure that one pitch, that one gut-punching instance, was not the memory she took away from a phenomenal individual and team season. 

"Obviously, I didn't blame her," Walton said. "But I also found out she didn't blame herself. I never saw any signs that it affected her." 

Perhaps in one way it did. 

She asked for more.