Aleshia Ocasio gave up a couple first-inning runs, then settled down and put down the Bulldogs.
Walton Pulls All the Right Levers in Bombing of Bulldogs
Thursday, May 31, 2018 | Softball, Chris Harry
Aleshia Ocasio provided a win from the circle and the game-turning, three-run homer that proved the difference.
UGA won the first game 5-4 that weekend on a walk-off homer, as slugger Alyssa DiCarlo took UF's Aleshia Ocasio deep for a three-run, game-winning shot in the seventh. The Bulldogs won Game 2 by a score of 11-1, though eight runs came off seldom-used pitchers Natalie Lugo and Katie Chronister. In the third game, Ocasio pitched a four-hit, complete game 5-1 win to salvage a piece of the series.
Yes, Ocasio did serve up the decisive meatball in that opening loss; not unlike she did against Georgia in the 2016 Gainesville Super Regional to end UF's run as two-time reigning NCAA champions; and not completely unlike she did last weekend in getting touched up late for crushing, go-ahead homers on back-to-back nights against Texas A&M, two calamities her team ultimately was able to withstand.
All were memorable plays, and not for good reason.
But neither UF coach Tim Walton nor pitching coach Jennifer Rocha were thinking about last weekend's homers, or the one in March, and certainly not the Super one two years ago, when they decided to go with Ocasio — instead of SEC Pitcher of the Year Kelly Barnhill — for Thursday night's Women's College World Series opener against Georgia at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Instead, Walton was looking at Ocasio's complete body of work against the Dogs in her two outings on the road two and half months ago.
Totals: 11 1/3 innings, three runs (two earned), nine hits, 13 strikeouts, one walk.
The walk-off home run, though ill-timed, was meaningless in the big picture.
As things turned out, so was the two-run shot Ocasio gave up in the first inning Thursday. That's because Jordan Matthews tied the game with a two-run, bases-loaded double in the UF first, and Ocasio, the very next batter, aided her cause with a three-run, go-ahead homer to right field.
"We punched right back," Ocasio told the ESPN2 crew.
Those five runs in the first were all the Gators (56-9) needed in an 11-3 run-rule rout in which Ocasio worked five innings, scattered seven hits, gave up three runs (just one after the first inning), fanned seven and walked one.
Hello, winner's bracket.
Worth noting: Since the advent of the Super Region format in 2006, no team that has lost the WCWS opener has won the national title that year.
Huge win. You might say an absolutely necessary one.
"One thing that I [will] praise our coaches and our staff, they do the best job they can and know personnel," Walton said after guiding UF to its fourth straight opening-round win at the WCWS, dating to 2014. "We felt Aleshia was the best matchup with Georgia's swingers. Her athleticism in the circle, a lot of things led to that decision. Also, the way she pitched against them last time. That was a key in making our decision."
It turned out to be a night of good decisions for the UF coach, who has a pretty good track record when it comes to such things in OKC. Remember Lauren Haeger instead of Hannah Rodgers against Alabama in the title series in 2014? Or Ocasio over Haeger in '15 against Michigan? Delanie Gourley in relief against Michigan? Those worked out pretty good.
So did the call Thursday to lift Matthews for a pinch-hitter in the UF fourth.
Florida led 6-2 with a runner on and Matthews — who hit the shot heard around Gator Nation last weekend to beat A&M and win the Super — due up against left-handed reliever Kylie Bass. Enter sophomore Jordan Roberts, with no hits over her previous six games, dating to the final series of the regular season.
"My dad texts me every day before the game and says just be ready," Roberts said afterward. "Be ready to answer the call."
Her home run cleared the left-center field bleachers, striking the black curtains covering the towers holding ESPN's camera crew.
Nice call, Coach.
"You've got a lefty-versus-lefty match-up with Jordan Matthews and their pitcher, and I liked our right-handed bat off the bench a little bit better," Walton said, then breaking into a smile. "Second furthest ball I've ever seen hit here in a Gator uniform. Megan Bush being the first one against Michigan (in 2009). That was a bomb."
The coach smiled even more as he described seeing Roberts round third base.
"I usually fist bump. She high-fived me," Walton said. "All she said she's ever dreamed of in her entire life in a softball uniform … that makes it special. I think it's pretty fun."
After the bare-knuckle drama of last weekend against A&M, the Gators surely appreciated the fun of walking off of the game's biggest stage with a lopsided defeat against an opponent that probably came to the ballpark with something of a mental edge. Walton negated whatever that edge might have been by trusting his players.
When the game ended on Janell Wheaton's bases-loaded hit-by-pitch, the Gators had scored their most runs against a ranked opponent this season, while totaling seven hits and eight walks against four Georgia pitchers. UF's three homers were the most against a Power 5 conference opponent this season.
Did we mention this all happened at the College World Series?
Clearly, Walton knows his team, knows what buttons to push.
Now, all options remain on the table for Friday night, when the Gators face eNo. 3-seed UCLA (56-5), which beat Florida State 7-4 in the round's nightcap, with a chance to lock up a spot in Sunday's semifinals.
Don't bother trying to figure out what Walton will do. Just understand he has the pulse of his players.
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
RHP/1B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
C/1B
/ SoftballOne on One with Alex Faedo
Sunday, March 29
One on One with Harrison Bader
Saturday, March 28
Road to Gameday: Florida Softball
Friday, March 27
One-on-One with Jac Caglianone
Thursday, March 26
