Special Farewell For Senior Class Keys SEC East Crown
Monday, May 9, 2011 | Softball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As far as Senior Days go, the one that took place Sunday afternoon at Pressly Stadium was a hit and a home run and a blast all rolled into one.
Senior Kelsey Bruder even remained composed, a feat in itself. Her tears usually produce a puddle at these things.
“I did a great job. I'm patting myself on the back for that, because I was known for hyperventilating on Senior Day,'' Bruder said. “I can't keep it together.''
Bruder did more than just avoid a trip to the Kleenex box, though. Her running catch in deep left field in the first inning on Sunday helped limit the Volunteers to one run. Her RBI grounder in the bottom of the inning tied the game, and Bruder later walked and scored on a wild pitch in Florida's 7-2 victory over the Vols.
That was basically the story of what turned into a sun-splashed weekend for the Gators. Whenever they needed a hit, they got it. Whenever they needed to make a pitch, they made it. Even Bruder's mom, Raleen, got into the act, winning the “Dance for Your Dinner'' promotion held in the fourth inning.
“It feels good where we are right now,'' Bruder said.
The Gators opened the weekend facing all sorts of possibilities. Unless they swept the third-ranked Volunteers, the Gators had no chance at their fourth consecutive SEC East title.
If they didn't sweep the Vols, the East belonged to Tennessee. But if the Gators swept and Alabama lost at least once to Ole Miss, the Gators could still clinch the overall SEC title outright.
Well, the Gators accomplished the most difficult task by sweeping the third-ranked Vols on Sunday, putting an exclamation point on the weekend for the team's five seniors. Alabama swept Ole Miss to claim the overall title.
An hour after the game, Bruder and her mom were on the field taking pictures. So were fellow senior Megan Bush and her parents. They wanted to capture more memories from not just the weekend, but the last four years.
UF's senior class now has 229 wins the past four seasons, more than any in the program's history. More than that, the seniors helped take the program to elite status in college softball.
The Gators earned their first trip to the College World Series in 2008 and have been back every season since.
“Looking back at the last four years, I don't think any of us can say we would be where we're at, but we're happy that we're there,'' senior Aja Paculba said.
“I can't say we're leaving here disappointed at all,'' Bush added. “We've had a great four years. We have put our heart into every game. I can't say that there's a single game I would give back.''
When the senior class arrived at UF four years ago, the program was in a rebuilding phase under head coach Tim Walton, who arrived two years before. The class made an impact immediately, with pitcher Stephanie Brombacher and second baseman Paculba playing significant roles as true freshmen.
Shortly after their final regular-season game on Sunday, Walton credited the seniors with helping change the culture of the program.
The Gators went from infants to one of the more respected softball programs in the country.
“They laid the foundation for this program,'' Walton said. “They were going to have an opportunity to build a program that wasn't built yet. I just sold them on that opportunity.''
Much like Brombacher did in 2008, freshman Hannah Rogers made a difference on the mound Sunday. Rogers won her 30th game of the season – a school record for a freshman previously held by Brombacher (20) – to send the seniors off with a victory.
The Gators did it in impressive fashion after Tennessee, which had not lost back-to-back games all season prior to Saturday, took the lead on Lauren Gibson's RBI double in the first. But like they did all weekend, every time the Vols gained an edge, the Gators struck back.
“They came out and was ready to go, and we didn't roll over,'' Walton said. “We fought back. It was nice.''
In the bottom of the first, Paculba reached on a three-base error and scored on Bruder's groundout. Brittany Schutte singled with two outs and later scored on a single by Tiffany DeFelice to put Florida back in front.
The Gators never trailed, busting the game open with a four-run fourth inning that started with a lead-off homer by Kelsey Horton. Rogers went the distance in the circle, never giving the Volunteers a chance.
If you didn't know better, you may have thought the postseason had already started by the atmosphere around Pressly Stadium.
“Everybody's nerves were running a little bit high,'' Bruder said. “We had great crowds all three games and this is the type of team you are going to see later on. It was a great stepping stone.''
The Gators (47-8, 21-7 SEC) now turn their attention to the SEC Tournament in Oxford, Miss., where the No. 2-seed Gators will open on Thursday against Auburn. They hope to keep playing the way they did against Tennessee, a three-game sweep that followed a 1-0 win over Florida State on Tuesday in which they managed only one hit.
More than anything, they want to keep winning like they have since a six-game losing streak nearly derailed their season. Since getting swept at home to Georgia and then losing three in a row at Kentucky, the Gators have won 17 of 18 games.
Those are the kind of stretches this senior class has become accustomed to.
“We have had ups and downs that we really haven't expected,'' Bruder said. “We've kind of caught ourselves off guard at times. This is where we want to be at this point in the season.''
Despite the rough patch, the Gators recovered. Walton said they are playing better defensively and pitching better than when they won their first 24 games of the season.
The recovery included Walton re-evaluating certain aspects of the program and taking a more “appreciative'' approach of the team's situation. He learned more about this team than he already knew.
And as expected, the five seniors led the way back from the losing streak.
“I really think that drought is what really helped us,'' he said. “It's easy to win. True character is defined by losing. Everybody really bonded together and really found a way to get better. Nobody panicked.''
