Gators Clear Major Hurdle In Victory Over UCLA
Monday, May 23, 2011 | Softball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They have been crowning a Division I NCAA softball champion since 1982. The first and last national champion was at Pressly Field on Sunday.
When Florida softball coach Tim Walton received word that UCLA was coming to town for the NCAA Gainesville Regional, Walton looked around for the nearest trash can.
“My stomach got a pit in it,'' Walton said early Sunday evening. “I was sick to my stomach at how UCLA could be sent to this regional after the season we've had.''
Don't get Walton wrong. He was confident the Gators could compete against the Bruins. They had already beaten UCLA in February at a tournament in Palm Springs, Calif. He just expected to be deeper into the postseason before having to face the 12-time national champions, who beat up the Gators by 13 runs in last year's College World Series.
To no one's surprise the Gainesville Regional came down to a showdown between the schools. Florida edged the Bruins 4-2 on Saturday, and UCLA rebounded to beat Jacksonville, setting the stage for a tension-filled Sunday afternoon.
The Gators needed just one win to advance to the Super Regional. UCLA needed two wins. In Sunday's first game, the Gators owned a one-run lead entering the bottom of the seventh.
The crowd was ready to celebrate. So were the Gators, three outs from taking another step toward their fourth consecutive trip to the CWS.
The Bruins, down to their final at-bat, said not so fast, mounting a dramatic rally off Florida pitcher Hannah Rogers. UCLA tied the game on Andrea Harrison's line-drive single to left that glanced off the glove of Gators shortstop Cheyenne Coyle, and then with two outs and the bases loaded, Amy Crawford singled home Harrison for a 3-2 victory to keep the Bruins' season alive.
It was the Bruins' turn to celebrate. As for the Gators, they grabbed their equipment from the dugout and walked slowly toward their clubhouse beyond the left-field wall.
What did they do during the 30-minute break? They ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“We just changed our uniforms, got something to eat,'' senior Aja Paculba said. “It was kind of quiet. I just looked around and told everybody that I didn't want this to be my last college game.''
As exciting as the first game was, it was nothing compared to what quickly turned into a chippy second game. UCLA, still feeding off the emotion of their comeback in Game 1, loaded the bases in the top of the first.
Two of the runners – Harrison and Kellie Fox – reached base by getting hit by Rogers. Both players stared toward Rogers as they made their way to first.
UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, already steering a team ravaged by injuries, came out to complain to home plate umpire Matt Dunbar.
Walton said that Rogers was nervous and struggling with her control.
Once the noise quieted, Rogers escaped the early trouble by getting Samantha Camuso to fly out for the final out.
What happened next was difficult to forecast for a team that managed only five hits in the previous two games against the Bruins. Clearly, those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the first-inning tension fired up Florida's lineup.
The Gators sent 13 batters to the plate and scored nine runs, highlighted by a two-run homer from catcher Tiffany DeFelice.
Right when it looked as if UCLA's tradition and championship pedigree was taking over, the Gators showed why they are national title contenders and not another pretender, knocking out the defending national champions 11-3.
“We weren't really upset or thrown off by the first inning at all,'' said Florida's Michelle Moultrie, who had more hits in the first inning – two – than the Gators had as a team in the first game. “We hadn't even got a chance to hit yet.''
Florida's victory Sunday meant so much more than advancing to host Oregon next weekend in the Super Regional. It felt as if the Gators cleared a hurdle not easily defined.
The UCLA softball program is comparable to North Carolina's basketball program or Notre Dame football.
Plus, the two schools have some history, including Walton's penchant for recruiting heavily in UCLA's territory. Coyle's college decision came down to the Bruins and the Gators. The Gators won and it's obviously that has added to what has turned into a lively East-West rivalry.
Later in Sunday's game the umps had to warn both dugouts after six batters had been hit in the game.
Inouye-Perez was clearly flustered at her team failing to advance and frustrated by mounting injuries that cost the Bruins starting catcher Alyssa Tiumalu, whose absence allowed the Gators to steal 16 bases in the two games Sunday.
“It was a free pass. We had to throw a no-hitter against them to make sure they weren't going to advance runners,'' Inouye said. “They are a quality team, I tip my cap to the fact that they can get on and they can steal off my bullpen catcher. They took advantage of a weakness.
“That's what you do.''
Walton, remembering what it felt like to lose 16-3 to the Bruins in the 2010 College World Series, had little sympathy. He played every card he had Sunday, fully aware of UCLA's past, present and future.
“I'm not feeling sorry for anybody,'' Walton said. “Every time we got on, we were stealing. We weren't trying to rub it in their face. We were trying to win a ballgame and move on to the next level.
“This is a huge moment. We just played UCLA and won,'' Walton said. “I'm really proud of this moment for our program. This is why I took the Florida job. This is why I recruit these kinds of kids.''
The Gators now move on ready to clear another hurdle. The five seniors on this year's team have been to three consecutive CWS and the goal is to get to a fourth.
They want to win this one and experience the feeling the Bruins have known so many times. They are closer than they were when Sunday started. The Bruins can certainly attest to that.
“If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best,'' Walton said.
