Seniors Have Seen It All

Softball Senior Day 2018, Janell Wheaton, Aleshia Ocasio, Kayli Kvistad, Nicole DeWitt

The Gators four seniors -- from left: Janell Wheaton, Aleshia Ocasio, Kayli Kvistad and Nicole DeWitt -- have combined for nearly 2,100 at-bats, a .307 average, 490 runs and 224 victories.

Friday, May 18, 2018 | Softball, Chris Harry

UF's four seniors head into the NCAA Tournament representing the roster's last link to the program's last national title.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When South Carolina registered the final out of Saturday night's Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game, the Florida softball team didn't do a whole lot of celebrating. Oh, the Gators were happy, all right. It was the program's first SEC tourney title in five years. It was also their 50th win of the season, their seventh straight and 16th over the previous 17, and gave UF both the league's regular-season and tournament crown for the first time since 2013.

Great achievement, yes. A time for cartwheels, no.

"The tournament was fun, but winning three games in a row was nothing like winning 20 [regular-season] games in our conference," junior slugger and SEC Player of the Year Amanda Lorenz said Thursday, tagging a dose of perspective to the moment. "But it was cool to get a T-shirt and a hat."

Yeah. Cool.

Now, comes the really cool stuff.

Lorenz is just a junior, but she's been properly groomed as far as what's important around here. In each of the two years before Lorenz arrived from California as the nation's No. 1-ranked softball recruit, the Gators won back-to-back NCAA championships. The last one came in 2015, when UF defeated Michigan in the decisive Game 3 of the Women's College World Series at Oklahoma City. Four players from that '15 squad remain on the current roster, making seniors Nicole DeWitt, Aleshia Ocasio, Kayli Kvistad, Janell Wheaton the last links to UF's last national title.

Since dog-piling in OKC three years ago, the last two Florida seasons ended, respectively, with a walk-off home run and home Super Regional loss to SEC rival Georgia in 2016, and a two-game sweep at the hands of defending national champ Oklahoma in the 2017 NCAA final.

Obviously, the seniors preferred their first go-around best, and would just as soon exit their final UF season the way they did their first.

"We've had a taste of everything," said Ocasio, who was in the circle to start and beat Michigan in Game 1 of the 2015 final, then in '16 served up the home run in the Super that ended the Gators' two-season dynasty. "We've done it all, but we also have some new players who have never been through this before."

True that.

Senior Aleshia Ocasio was on the mound for UF's SEC Tournament-clinching defeat of South Carolina last weekend.

Combined, the foursome of DeWitt, Ocasio, Kvistad and Wheaton have tallied 2,099 at-bats, 645 hits, a .307 average, 490 runs scored, 531 RBI, 84 homers and been part of (this is fairly important) 224 wins. Obviously, they didn't achieve the latter alone. Lauren Haeger (Class of '15), Kelsey Stewart ('15), Delanie Gourley ('17), Kelly Barnhill ('19), Lorenz ('19) and a slew of others had a hand in things. And if the Class of '18 is going to go out the way it came in, it'll need help from the likes of Sophia Reynoso ('20), Jordan Matthews ('21) and Hannah Adams ('21).

The seniors who have seen it all, though, will lead the way, starting with Friday night's NCAA Tournament opener when UF (50-8) faces cross-state foe Bethune-Cookman (31-24) in their home regional at Pressly Stadium. Ohio State (34-14) and South Florida (38-21) are the other two teams in the Gainesville Regional field, with the survivor of the double-elimination format moving on to Super Regional play next weekend.

"Our class, we have experience never-ending," said Wheaton, the team's catcher. "We won a national championship, [then] didn't make it to the World Series, and lost in the championships series. The tough part is not looking ahead. You have to take it game by game, each at-bat at a time."

Sounds easy, but there's something about tournament play that makes the heart beat a little faster. That's why it's always best to have players who have dealt with the environment before.

In the case of these Gators, they've dealt with the environment, but also virtually all scenarios.

"The ability to have four seniors who have played in every type of meaningful game, and have played a big role in every type of meaningful game the last three years, you can't measure," said Coach Tim Walton, who has guided UF teams through a ton of meaningful games for 13 seasons, more than 700 wins and eight trips to the WCWS. "Having players who have done it all, and having that kind of leadership and experience, is something you really can't create. It's a huge advantage."

Maybe that experience, that level of success and heartbreak, was the reason Florida was so matter-of-fact — a few high-fives,some hugs and a Gator chant — about winning the SEC Tournament last weekend.

The team had finished the regular season the weekend before on the road at Missouri. With the tournament being hosted by Mizzou, the Gators didn't come home, but rather stayed over in Columbia, Mo., practiced there, went on a field trip to St. Louis to see the Arch and a Cardinals game during the week, and showed up for the tournament.

"We were already there for seven-days plus," said Kvistad, the UF first baseman. "So what was another three?"

Enough to win another trophy.

Now, there's bigger hardware to be had. And it won't be easy to acquire.

"We hear our fans say, 'We cannot wait for you guys to get to the College World Series,' but we understand we have two weekends to go," Kvistad said. "We're not overlooking anything."

Added DeWitt: "We're looking at the next opponent."

Experience has taught them that much.

Three years ago, when these four seniors were freshmen, each had their special postseason moments that helped lift the team — and their upperclassmen teammates — to the place everyone wants to be: In OKC at the bottom of a pile.

"When you're in a program that has a lot of good players, you don't have to have your seniors play extremely well for us to win," Walton said. "They can play good, and we can still win, as long as someone else steps up to do what's necessary."

Who will it be?