Softball team will go back to work, not overreact
Sunday, March 15, 2015 | Softball, Men's Tennis, Chris Harry
Coach Tim Walton huddles with his team after Sunday's 10-3 loss to LSU, which gave the third-ranked Tigers two wins in their three-game series against the top-ranked Gators. [Photo by Jim Burgess]
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Lauren Haeger tapped freshman pitcher Aleshia Ocasio on the shoulder.
“I got it,” she said.
Haeger was referencing the post-game mini-scrum of media waiting to hear reaction to LSU's 10-3 beating Sunday of the top-ranked Florida, a decisive defeat that came less than 24 hours after Ocasio surrendered a grand slam in the final inning in what turned out to be a 14-10 victory for the Tigers and UF's first loss of the season. On Sunday, it was Haeger serving up a three-run homer in the sixth to hit machine Bianka Bell, the key blow in 10 unanswered runs against the UF pitching staff.
As a senior, Haeger felt it her responsibility to speak on the team's behalf. And make no mistake, as a senior she'll also make it her responsibility -- as well the rest of veterans on this team -- to do whatever is necessary to bounce back from two eye-opening outcomes.
“We need to play better. We need to execute better and have better approaches at bat,” Haeger said. “That was not our best series at all.”
Far from it.
Coming into their Southeastern Conference opening series, the top-ranked, unbeaten Gators had played a difficult non-league schedule and along the way surrendered just 28 runs in 27 games.
Well, third-ranked LSU left town with 27 runs over three games. And with two wins on the road, the Tigers (27-1) likely left town as the nation's new No. 1 team.
It's also just March 15.
Florida has 25 more games to play.
“I don't think we're going to overreact,” said junior center fielder Kirsti Merritt, who provided all of UF's offense with a three-run homer in the third to give the Gators a 3-0 lead that the Tigers vaporized over the final three innings. “They're a good team. We're a good team. We just have to keep going hard at practice. As long as we do that, we'll be OK.”
Rest assured, the Gators will keep going hard. Coach Tim Walton knows no other way.
“I'm not happy, I guarantee you that,” he said. “We're going to have to make some adjustments, but fortunately, we're early in the season.”
Florida's hitters were behind the count on LSU starter Kelsee Selman virtually the entire game. Unproductive at-bats, though, pretty much were the theme of the weekend against the high-powered Tigers. With the exception of Taylore Fuller (three homers Saturday; nine of her team's 12 RBI in the series) and Kelsey Stewart (6-for-11), the Gators really struggled to mount offense. Their 3-4 hitters, Haeger and Bailey Castro, combined to go 2-for-17; he bottom third of the order went 1-for-22.
And then there was Bell, the LSU shortstop and Tampa product who came into the series hitting .513 -- and raised her average by 32 points. She was 10-for-14 against the Gators, with eight RBI, including the big blast in Sunday's game.
Yeah, LSU is a good team, all right. A really good team. One Florida figures to see down the line again when the stakes are much, much higher.
If Walton's track record is any indication, when the time comes to see the Tigers again, the Gators will be much, much better because of the events of this weekend.
“We didn't play very well, didn't pitch very well, didn't hit very well, but I'm not going to say it's alarming. What are we now, 28-2?” said Walton, correctly calling the team's record. “If we had won 3-2 today, I wouldn't have been satisfied. We'll go back and look at some things, like personnel, and see what we have to do better.”
