After Sweep Of Oregon, Gators Have Look Of Team Peaking At Right Time
Saturday, May 28, 2011 | Softball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Their goodbye gift to the orange-and-blue clad folks who endured a lightning delay, a rain delay and stifling heat over two days was a worthy one.
The Gators took the field Saturday knowing that whatever happened, there would be no more home games in 2011. Their season would either be over or they would be making travel plans for Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series.
The way the Gators played during the Gainesville Super Regional, they could have packed their bags before the first pitch.
That's not a knock against Oregon, but a tribute to how well Florida played in sweeping the Ducks, booking their fourth consecutive trip to the WCWS with a 7-0 victory Saturday afternoon at a packed Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
“When we jump out to a good lead, we're tough to beat,'' Florida coach Tim Walton said.
His counterpart, Oregon coach Mike White, left town a firm believer.
“We ran into a bit of a buzzsaw,'' White said. “Unfortunately, just as Florida's team is getting hot, ours went ice cold.''
Shortly after White left his postgame press conference, Walton and the Gators' five seniors entered. Back when Walton took over and was still trying to place his stamp on the program, he offered Kelsey Bruder, Stephanie Brombacher, Megan Bush, Tiffany DeFelice and Aja Paculba an opportunity to join him for the ride.
They said yes, and over the past four seasons, the group has made a lot of history at UF. They made more Saturday, becoming the first SEC softball program in conference history to qualify for four consecutive WCWS.
They did it in style, too, outscoring, outpitching and outplaying an Oregon team that came to town with an impressive Pac-10 resume. The Gators outscored Oregon 16-1 over the two games, had 15 hits to Oregon's seven, and played error-free defense while the Ducks committed five.
The seniors that have meant so much to the program the past four years couldn't have asked for a better send-off in their final home game.
“Being our last game here, it's emotional, but I think it would be even more emotional if we weren't continuing on playing,'' said Bush, who chipped in Saturday with an RBI double that gave the Gators a 2-0 lead. “I'm just happy we still have that chance.
“We knew coming in that we had some of the best fans in the country. We were just excited to play for them this last weekend and they showed up for us. They did what we wanted them to do, and so we did what they wanted us to do.''
It was that kind of series for the Gators, who appear to be peaking at a perfect time.
No one had a better performance than right fielder Brittany Schutte, who after hitting a pair of homers on Friday connected for another one Saturday, a three-run blast in the sixth that tied Bush's single-season home run record of 20.
“She had a game-changing experience. I think Pontiac sponsors that,'' Walton quipped. “The swings she took [Friday] and the swings she took today were ferocious.''
While the lineup produced impressively, so did freshman pitcher Hannah Rogers, who pitched her 10th shutout and won her 33rd game.
While underclassmen like Schutte, Rogers and freshman shortstop Cheyenne Coyle played key roles Saturday, the seniors were the headliners because of their body of work over the past four years.
When they first made the WCWS in 2008, they sort of felt like underdogs. They go there as seniors expecting to challenge for the title.
And it so happens that they are playing the way they need to if they are going to return to Gainesville with a trophy.
“I didn't want my last time wearing a Gator jersey to be on this field,'' DeFelice said. “I'm really excited to go back and give it one last shot.''
“I think we're playing great,'' Paculba added. “I think the biggest thing for us is that we're all relaxed. We have the five of us keeping the underclassmen calm.''
At the start of the season it was difficult to imagine the Gators clinching a Super Regional berth without Brombacher needing to throw a pitch. But that's exactly what happened Saturday as Rogers, who has continued to improve, limited the Ducks to four hits while striking out three in an efficient 83-pitch outing.
Even Walton admitted that he knew many wanted or expected Brombacher to pitch Saturday, but with the way Rogers threw after spelling Brombacher in Saturday's 9-1 win, he went with his gut.
It was the right call as Oregon never really threatened once the Gators opened an early lead.
Brombacher watched from the dugout feeling good about the Gators' trip to the WCWS, where they will try to win the program's first national title.
“Our hitters have been doing their job, our defense has been playing great, and Hannah and I have been pitching well,'' Brombacher said. “I think right now our team is at a good place.''
Bruder also chipped in Saturday, slapping a two-run single in the fourth that gave the Gators a 4-0 lead and seemed to zap any energy the Ducks had left.
She was glad to help out, but even if she had been hitless, another trip to the WCWS was what she had in mind regardless of who grabbed the headlines.
“I don't want to say I expected it, but with how hard we work, and with the talent, and with the attitudes and the chemistry, I do expect to go to the College World Series every year with the group we have,'' Bruder said.
Those expectations became a reality on a humid Saturday afternoon. Walton wore the same orange shirt he wore in Friday's win. He figured why take a chance, although he did admit to giving it a wash.
You may see him in the same shirt in the first game of the WCWS from the way it sounds. What Walton hopes to see is the same team that looked superior to Oregon in the Super Regional.
He would like nothing more to share a celebratory press conference with the team's five seniors while wearing the same orange shirt he word Saturday.
“I do know how hard it is to do what we just did,'' Walton said. “I hope we're not done yet. This group here means more to me than most things in my life.''
