Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In 2004, the NCAA began seeding its softball championship tournament in a 1-through-16 format. The numbers were based on computer metrics, with the top 16 teams all hosting regionals and the top eight remaining after the first weekend hosting Super Regionals. On Sunday, the 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket was released and the Florida Gators checked in at No. 1. 

For the fifth time. 

No other program has more than one.  

"It says a lot about the consistency of our program and our athletes," said UF coach Tim Walton, who has guided the Gators to all five of those No. 1 seeds, not to mention 11 NCAA tournament berths, all opening rounds at home, in his 11 seasons. "I can tell you right now I have taken a great deal of pride in being the No. 1 team, [but] it doesn't seem to be doing us any justice when it comes down to matchups, I'll be very frank with that." 

Don't misinterpret Walton's remarks for complaining. He understands the dynamics relative to the NCAA budget and sending this team here and that one there, all the while looking to manage costs. Walton gets that, even as he ponders what could be a week from now. 

But that's irrelevant. 

For the time being, all Walton and the No. 2-ranked, top-seeded Gators (50-6) care about is their opening weekend regional that starts Friday at 2:30 p.m. with a date against Florida A&M (23-30-1) at Seashole Stadium. That one will follow a noon game between the other two regional reps, Oklahoma State (35-23) and Florida International (45-13), with the quarter's Sunday survivor advancing to Super Regional play next week (more on that below). 

UF won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and went 20-3 in a league that placed — get this — all 13 of its teams in the NCAA field of 64. The Gators, though, won just four of their last seven games, dropping games at No. 9 Tennessee, at No. 7 Florida State and against No. 18 Ole Miss in their first game of the SEC Tournament, an event the Rebels went on to win. Again, no shame in any of those defeats, but they came by a combined score of 10-2, with the loss to the Rebels a 2-0 shutout setback when UF managed just two hits. 

Seems like bad timing for the bats to go cold. No one in orange and blue is panicking. 

"Learn from it and move on," sophomore left fielder Amanda Lorenz said. "We're the SEC regular-season champions and we're really pumped about that. Now we're excited to look to postseason. We know our weaknesses, know our strengths and we're going to hone on those strengths to get ready for this weekend."
 
Florida ended the regular season with a 7-0 rout of FAMU and also defeated the Rattlers 8-1 in February, the same month the Gators waxed FIU 7-0. UF has not played Oklahoma State, coached by former Walton assistant (and longtime best friend) Kenny Gajewski, which means the Cowgirls have never faced Kelly Barnhill (22-1, 0.33 ERA), maybe the top pitcher in the country this season. They'll likely get that chance. 

Barnhill, who threw just one inning in five NCAA games as a freshman, can't wait to get the ball as a sophomore. 

"We've had our ups and downs with a couple losses the last couple weeks," Barnhill said. "But sometimes the losses help you more than the wins to determine weaknesses."

UF will focus on greater offensive production this weekend. When asked if anything specific could facilitate that, Walton mentioned he'd like to see both Lorenz (.373, 9 HRs, 36 RBI) and first baseman Kayli Kvistad (.388, 7 HR, 47 RBI) on the base paths more than maybe he's seen of late. 

Consider that an open challenge. 

"I like it," Lorenz said. "Pressure is a privilege." 

It's definitely the season for it. And in the event the Gators can get out of their regional — they've advanced the last four seasons, with 12 straight wins, including 10 consecutive shutouts — they'll likely be welcoming a longtime nemesis, league rival Alabama, or get a visit from Minnesota, which happens to be the nation's No. 1-ranked team at 54-3 but did not warrant a Top 16 seed, according to the NCAA computer. That engendered something of a controversy in college softball circles.  

But that's a (potential) story for another day. 

The top subplots for the Gators? They're at home again in NCAA play and looking to get back on the winning (and offensive) track. 

"We've won more games than anyone in the country the last 10 years, so we don't want to lose and we don't like to lose," Walton said when asked of the quick exit from the league tournament. "Yes, there are some advantages to losing early, but the SEC is very prideful of their conference tournament. It's a big deal."

The Gators are prideful, too. Especially when it comes to deep NCAA Tournament runs … preferably all the way to Oklahoma City. 

Those are bigger deals.