GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Junior
Alex Voss started in center field Friday night, but when her first turn to bat came up in the second inning, sophomore
Jaimie Hoover was announced as a pinch-hitter in the No. 9 hole. Florida and Bethune-Cookman were scoreless, but the Gators, with two outs, had runners at the corners and a chance to jump on the Wildcats early.
It was situation Coach
Tim Walton had a plan for, and his two players were well aware of it.
"Not really," Hoover said, when asked if she was surprised at the early insertion into the lineup. "I was prepared. You never know what's going to happen, [so] always be ready."
She was ready, all right. Hoover lashed Alexis Bermudez's full-count pitch over the center field wall for a three-run homer. An inning later, Hoover grounded a bases loaded single up the middle for RBI's four and five on the day, accounting for her team's first five runs in what became an 8-0 six-inning, mercy-rule defeat of the Wildcats in opening round play of the NCAA regional at Pressly Stadium.
The outcome advanced the Gators (51-8), the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, into the winner's bracket to face Ohio State (35-14) in Saturday afternoon's second-round action.
Will it be Hoover or Voss against the Buckeyes?
Depends on the moment.
"It's a personnel decision," Walton said. "
Alex Voss is not going to hit a 3-run homer, but she
is going to provide us with great defense and leadership to start the game. We started with our best defense and then adjusted to our best offense as needed — and we can go back to our best defense."
Jaimie Hoover began the day with four homers and 15 RBI for the season. She hit her fifth homer in the second inning and tallied a third of her season's RBI with a career-best five for the night.
The Gators, winners of eight straight and 18 of the last 19, didn't need a lot of great defense against the Wildcats (31-25), given that starting pitcher
Kelly Barnhill and reliever
Aleshia Ocasio combined to no-hit BCC and strike out 13 of the 18 batters they faced. UF countered with eight hits — including a game-ending homer by senior
Nicole DeWitt to kick in the eight-run mercy rule — but the two by Hoover got the Gators going.
"It was great seeing her step up in a big situation," DeWitt said.
As a freshman last season, Hoover arrived as the best athlete on the team and started her collegiate career solidly — including a 5-RBI effort in a win at South Carolina — only to flail into a wicked funk late in the year. She went 3-for-30 in the final four Southeastern Conference series, then 0-for-10 in the NCAA Tournament to finish her year with a .210 batting average.
As a sophomore, Hoover was moved from third base to the outfield and put in a platoon situation, all the while maintaining a stellar attitude and work ethic, and along the way gaining even more admiration from her coaches and teammates. She stayed, like she stated, prepared.
Now, a year after going hitless in those 10 at-bats in the postseason, Hoover has started the the 2018 postseason 2-for-2, with a home run, a walk and those career high-equaling five RBI.
"Give Jaimie credit for getting the game going with a three-run homer," Walton said. "It's not an easy position to be in, but we prepared for that in the cages today and every day for the past 30-40 days, just telling her to be ready to go. Proud of her."
No wonder she ran around the bases so swiftly as the ball was rocketing toward the pine trees in the second inning.
"It knew it was going out," Hoover said. "But I was just so excited."
