Florida Gators

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tim Walton's track record for scratching out innings from his pitching staff at the Women's College World Series was pretty good.

In 2014, with Hannah Rogers the hottest pitcher in the sport, he handed the ball to an untested freshman by the name of Delanie Gourley in Game 2 of the championship series and the rookie ended up the pitcher of record amid a dog pile. In 2015, he sent freshman Aleshia Ocasio and Gourley to the circle in Game 1 against Michigan before turning matters over to ace Lauren Haeger. Again, dog pile. 

Back in a title-series dilemma Tuesday, Walton had some more shell-gaming to do, what with staff aces Kelly Barnhill and Gourley basically splitting the load Monday night in an exhaustive 7-5 loss to Oklahoma in a Game 1 that needed 5 1/2 hours and 17 innings to complete. 

"I thought it was a good opportunity for us to try and piece together this game and try and stretch it out as long as we could," Walton said.

Walton and pitching coach Jennifer Rocha opted for Ocasio, the junior who had not started a game in five weeks. She was greeted with a home run by the first Sooners batter of the game, got a boost from three UF runs in the second inning, but ultimately pitched into an early jam that OU seized upon and, from there, did some piecing together of its pitching staff, as well. 

In the end, four Oklahoma pitchers, including a closing dose of bazooka-armed Paige Lowary, proved the difference in OU's 5-4 win that delivered the Sooners a second straight national title and a sweep of the best-of-three NCAA title series in front of a sold-out delighted crowd of 8,507 at USA Hall of Fame Stadium. 

Given the events of the night before, both teams had to do a juggling act with their pitching staffs. The Sooners, it turned out, had more balls in the air and kept them up longer. 

"I was hoping we could get one time through the lineup," Walton said. "Just to change the look for what they were getting." 

One time through with Ocasio. After that, the plan was to go with Gourley for a few innings and eventually turn things over to Barnhill. 

But circumstances prompted Plan B. 

"First off, you always want to give your team a chance, no matter what the situation," Ocasio said. 

And it was a difficult situation. 

Mind you, Ocasio was UF's best pitcher last season, finishing No. 2 in the nation with 0.77 ERA before being converted into an everyday player in the offseason. She'd pitched in 18 games this season, with an 8-1 record and 1.13 ERA coming in, although her last start was a 5-1 loss on April 30 at Tennessee when the Volunteers knocked her around for five runs on nine hits. But she'd thrown two perfect innings in the Super Regional against Alabama and had experience (and success) on this stage (see 2015). 

One time through the order, that was the goal. 

OU's first batter, Mendes, stroked an opposite-field homer for a 1-0 lead. 

"That didn't phase us at all," Ocasio said. "We still fought." 
 
True that. Sophia Reynoso clubbed a solo homer to tie the game to start the second. The Gators got two more runs, chasing Oklahoma starter and 26-game winner Paige Parker, to jump in front 3-1 and actually left the bases loaded. They could have had more, but they had the lead. 

Ocasio opened the OU second with an out, but then Macey Hatfield singled to left and Lea Woodach, a .162 hitter, walked to give the Sooners first and second with just one out. The next batter, No. 9 hitter Kelsey Arnold, reached base on a swinging bunt that squirted about four feet in front of the plate. Bad luck for Ocasio, who at that point had gotten through the order once, but left the game with the bases loaded. 

Enter Gourley, who struck out Mendes. Two outs. She then walked Caleigh Clifton to force home a run and cut the Florida edge to 3-2. 

The next batter, Monday night three-run homer hero Shay Knighten, ripped a two-out double into the right field gap that cleared the bases and gave Sooners coach Patty Gasso, knee-deep in pitchers, a 5-3 lead and (and all kinds of options) to work with. 

Gourley, after the one bad pitch, would throw five innings of shutout ball the rest of the way. 

Gasso, meanwhile, called on standout freshman Mariah Lopez, for just over two innings. UF senior Chelsea Herndon, on her 22nd birthday, hit a home run in the third to dead center field to close the gap to 5-4. The Gators were right there, despite the early troubles. 

It was about that time Walton did an in-game interview with ESPN and remarked how his team — somehow — needed to score another run before seeing Lowary. 

Lopez got the next four batters then gave way to another freshman, Mendes, OU's hitting leader (.408 average), who came in front right field and set the Gators down in order in the fifth.

UF's Jordan Roberts led off the sixth with a single off Mendes, prompting Lowary to jog in from the bullpen. 

Lowary, with her 70-mph-plus stuff, threw 10 1/3 inning the night before; 139 pitches in all, allowing eight hits (seven of them singles) and two runs. In coming in to put the fire out, she was in the very position Walton hoped Barnhill would be in.

For that to happen, though, the Gators needed a big hit. 

Roberts' pinch-runner, Alex Voss, reached second base with two outs, as UF's best hitter, Amanda Lorenz, stepped in to face OU's best pitcher. 

Lorenz struck out swinging. 

"Nicole Mendes did exactly what we asked her to do to set it up for Paige Lowary, and Paige Lowary came in, and she was hot. She was ready," Gasso said. "She was really -- you could see her -- I don't know how hard she was throwing, but it looked like 100 miles an hour. The adrenaline was there and she was hitting her spots just so confidently."

The Gators went down in order in the seventh and the Sooners celebrated. 

"It wasn't our tournament," Walton said. 

It was OU's. 

Sometimes it's the other team with all the arms and all the right moves. And there's hardly any shame in that. Not in the national championship series. 

And Walton's track record remains pretty good. 

"We're proud we ended our season here, for sure," Lorenz said., "Wish we had come out on top, but … it happens."