Michelle Moultrie's Excellent Adventure Continues at Pan Am Games
Wednesday, October 19, 2011 | Softball, Scott Carter
She still isn't sure how exactly she hopped aboard this wild ride. But the soft-spoken girl from Jacksonville is definitely making the most of Michelle Moultrie's Excellent Adventure.
It started in February with a tryout for the USA Softball Women's National Team. She was invited back to a training camp in California in June and made the team.
Moultrie woke up this morning in Guadalajara, Mexico. Team USA is currently playing in the Pan American Games, opening with three consecutive wins and is considered the favorite to win the gold medal.
“I didn't really expect to make [the team],'' Moultrie said the other day from Houston, where Team USA trained for a few days before leaving for the Pan Am Games. “It's such a cool experience.''
The past year has been very cool for Moultrie. Considering the way she started her softball career for the Gators – as a walk-on just hoping to get a shot – there are other adjectives that fit as well, such as remarkable.
To grasp how far and fast Moultrie's career has come, let's go back four months ago to early June. The Gators had just defeated Oregon in their final home game of 2011, advancing to their fourth consecutive Women's College World Series.
Gators coach Tim Walton sat underneath a press tent outside Seashole Pressly Stadium talking about Florida's win. He was asked a question about Moultrie, who was playing at a high level and had made a splendid diving catch.
Walton's eyes welled up with tears. He paused momentarily to regain his composure. And then he spoke about how much Moultrie meant to the Gators' postseason run.
“
You can't assess," Walton said. “Michelle means so much. My gut was that she was going to be good, and she's better than anybody could ever expect."
The Gators packed up and headed to Oklahoma City for the WCWS a couple of days later and Moultrie somehow raised her play to another level, earning WCWS co-Most Outstanding Player honors for the runner-up Gators by slapping 13 hits and four home runs during the tournament.
Once the college season ended, Moultrie traded her Gators jersey in for a Team USA one, playing in the World Cup in Oklahoma City before traveling around the country and Canada with Team USA. She made another one of those signature diving catches – flying through the air like a dart stretched out totally parallel with the ground – that made the rounds on the Internet.
It's been a ride to remember.
“It's an amazing opportunity,'' Moultrie said. “I just want to take in the whole experience.''
Moultrie is playing the same role for Team USA that she does for the Gators. She serves as a do-it-all hitter at the top of the order. She patrols center field with graceful speed and a glove that swallows anything in its vicinity.
With softball no longer part of the Olympics, the Pan Am Games provide the biggest international stage Moultrie and her U.S. teammates currently have to represent their country and show off their talents for a worldwide audience.
They haven't disappointed, winning their first three games in Mexico by a combined 27-0 score, including a 7-0 win Tuesday night over host Mexico. Moultrie has done her part with two hits, three RBIs, three runs, two walks and a stolen base.
As a junior at UF, Moultrie set a school record by hitting .443 and posting a .519 on-base percentage. She posted a school-record 101 hits and stole 31 of 34 bases.
When she first tried out at UF, Walton saw a player with raw speed and talent but lacking some of the fundamental skills to play at the collegiate level. He told her she had to improve and Moultrie did the rest.
She hit .261 as a freshman. Once she began to understand the finer points of the game and started to put them into practice, Moultrie raised her average to .389 as a sophomore and then shattered the school record for batting average as a junior.
Can you say quick learner?
“I was always playing backyard baseball or something [growing up],'' she said. “I played a lot of different sports. I started feeling really comfortable with my role on the team [last season] and what kind of player I was.
“As I got more comfortable I just started playing better.''
The best part for the Gators is that Moultrie, who played at Mandarin High in Jacksonville, has another season of eligibility.
She wants to enjoy the experience of the Pan Am Games. She wants to win gold. Equally important, Moultrie wants to improve as a player and help the Gators win their first WCWS title.
“The highlight is playing with the girls I'm playing with,'' she said. “You see all the different girls from other schools on TV and stuff, but to get to know them has been cool.
“Being on this team really helps me because all the girls are so into the game and so smart about the game, it gives me some different perspectives on what you can do to make yourself better.''
That's great news for the Gators, bad news for the rest of the SEC.
