Texas A&M 5, Florida 4 (Instant Breakdown)
Friday, May 25, 2018 | Softball, Chris Harry
A quick wrap of Friday night's Super Regional Game 2 loss.
NCAA SUPER REGIONAL GAME 2
TEXAS A&M 5, FLORIDA 4
WHAT HAPPENED: Senior Tori Vidales hit a towering three-run homer off Aleshia Ocasio in the fifth inning, turning a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead and Pressly Stadium on its head Friday night, as the 14th-ranked Aggies came from behind to beat the No. 4 Gators and even their best-of-three Super Regional series at a game a piece. The score was tied at 2-all when UF senior Nicole DeWitt lashed a two-run single in the fourth to give UF, the visitors in this game, a 4-2 lead. Ocasio seemed to be cruising right along until back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth brought Vidales, the Aggies No. 3 hitter and home run leader, to the plate. Vidales timed up Ocasio perfectly and delivered a rocket to dead center field for the lead and a shot of life to an A&M dugout that was crushed by a walk-off come-from-ahead loss in Game 1. The Gators threatened to at least tie the game in the sixth against A&M reliever Payton McBride, putting runners at the corners with two outs, but McBride got freshman Jordan Matthews on pop to right, then finished things in the UF seventh. Just five days after throwing the first seven-inning postseason no-hitter in school history, Ocasio got roughed up for nine hits, including a pair of homers, and five runs (four earned).
PLAY OF THE GAME: Ocasio had recorded the minimum 10 outs in facing 10 A&M hitters during a stretch bridging the third inning to getting the first two outs in the Aggies sixth. But those consecutive two-out singles by Samantha Show and Sarah Hudek brought on Vidales -- and her team-best 12 homers -- to the plate. She made it 13 (easily) by crushing Ocasio's pitch way out of the yard to turn a two-run deficit into a 5-4 lead.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Vidales, obviously. She came into the game 0-for-5 for the Super and had grounded into a double play her previous time up. She made up for it.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Lorenz, the 2018 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, has reached base on eight of the eight times she's come to the plate in the Super Region. She went 3-for-3 with a double, a homer and two RBI, plus was hit by a pitch in Thursday's 5-4 win. Lorenz led off Game 2 with a single, then walked twice, and singled again in the sixth. Make that 5-for-5, with two walks, a HBP, and an on-base percentage of 1.000 for the first two games. The Gators will need more of the same in Game 3.
STAGGERING STATISTIC 2: Coming into the Super, the Gators had given up at least four runs in a game only six times this season. The Aggies got four in their loss Friday and five in this one. UF is now 2-6 when an opponent scores four or more.
UP NEXT: Pretty clear-cut stuff. With the Super series tied at game a piece, Florida (54-9), the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, and Texas A&M (44-17) will play a deciding Game 3 Saturday at 4 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Women's College World Series next week in Oklahoma City. The Gators will be trying to reach the WCWS for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons, while the Aggies are looking for their second straight trip to OKC and eighth in school history.
TEXAS A&M 5, FLORIDA 4
WHAT HAPPENED: Senior Tori Vidales hit a towering three-run homer off Aleshia Ocasio in the fifth inning, turning a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead and Pressly Stadium on its head Friday night, as the 14th-ranked Aggies came from behind to beat the No. 4 Gators and even their best-of-three Super Regional series at a game a piece. The score was tied at 2-all when UF senior Nicole DeWitt lashed a two-run single in the fourth to give UF, the visitors in this game, a 4-2 lead. Ocasio seemed to be cruising right along until back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth brought Vidales, the Aggies No. 3 hitter and home run leader, to the plate. Vidales timed up Ocasio perfectly and delivered a rocket to dead center field for the lead and a shot of life to an A&M dugout that was crushed by a walk-off come-from-ahead loss in Game 1. The Gators threatened to at least tie the game in the sixth against A&M reliever Payton McBride, putting runners at the corners with two outs, but McBride got freshman Jordan Matthews on pop to right, then finished things in the UF seventh. Just five days after throwing the first seven-inning postseason no-hitter in school history, Ocasio got roughed up for nine hits, including a pair of homers, and five runs (four earned).
PLAY OF THE GAME: Ocasio had recorded the minimum 10 outs in facing 10 A&M hitters during a stretch bridging the third inning to getting the first two outs in the Aggies sixth. But those consecutive two-out singles by Samantha Show and Sarah Hudek brought on Vidales -- and her team-best 12 homers -- to the plate. She made it 13 (easily) by crushing Ocasio's pitch way out of the yard to turn a two-run deficit into a 5-4 lead.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Vidales, obviously. She came into the game 0-for-5 for the Super and had grounded into a double play her previous time up. She made up for it.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Lorenz, the 2018 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, has reached base on eight of the eight times she's come to the plate in the Super Region. She went 3-for-3 with a double, a homer and two RBI, plus was hit by a pitch in Thursday's 5-4 win. Lorenz led off Game 2 with a single, then walked twice, and singled again in the sixth. Make that 5-for-5, with two walks, a HBP, and an on-base percentage of 1.000 for the first two games. The Gators will need more of the same in Game 3.
STAGGERING STATISTIC 2: Coming into the Super, the Gators had given up at least four runs in a game only six times this season. The Aggies got four in their loss Friday and five in this one. UF is now 2-6 when an opponent scores four or more.
UP NEXT: Pretty clear-cut stuff. With the Super series tied at game a piece, Florida (54-9), the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, and Texas A&M (44-17) will play a deciding Game 3 Saturday at 4 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Women's College World Series next week in Oklahoma City. The Gators will be trying to reach the WCWS for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons, while the Aggies are looking for their second straight trip to OKC and eighth in school history.
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