Sunday, May 23
Gainesville, Fla.
12 PM
Florida Gators
45-9
8
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USF
31-19
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E
Florida
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USF
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UF coach Tim Walton and pitcher Elizabeth Hightower share smiles after her no-hitter in Sunday's regional championship against South Florida.
Hightower Stands Tallest in Circle
Sunday, May 23, 2021 | Softball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To appreciate the for-the-record-book performance turned in by Florida pitcher Elizabeth Hightower during the weekend's NCAA home regional, maybe it's best first to break down what her counterpart, South Florida's sensational All American, Georgina Corrick, did over the three days.
Corrick may have been the losing pitcher in UF's 1-0 triumph in first-round action Friday, but it took a walk-off double by Hannah Adams in the bottom of the seventh to move the fourth-seeded Gators into the winner's bracket.
In Saturday's elimination frames, Corrick pitched the Bulls to a pair of victories by no-hitting Baylor in a 5-0 win, then chasing that outing by scattering three hits in a 1-0 victory over South Alabama. So in a 24-hour span, Corrick worked 20 innings over three games and gave up just one run on 10 hits to go with 23 strikeouts and just two walks, and thus bought USF a rematch with the Gators in Sunday's regional-championship round.
Guess who the Bulls trotted out with their season on the line?
The second time around against UF, Corrick struck out five of the first six Gators she faced and by the time Bulls coach Ken Eriksen came to get her in the seventh Sunday, Corrick — who left the field to a rousing ovation from the Pressly Stadium fans in orange and blue, as well as green and gold— had thrown 26 innings over the four games, fanned 32, walked only four and given up just two runs.
"Give credit where credit is due," UF sophomore catch Julia Cottrill said. "She's an amazing pitcher."
Yes. And here's the rub.
Corrick, this weekend, was the second-best pitcher in the regional.
And frankly, even somewhat remarkably, it wasn't close.
All Hightower, the junior from Monticello, Fla., did in her two outings was throw — get this — 13.1 hitless innings, including Sunday's complete-game no-no in an 8-0 victory that marked the first no-hitter of her career and sent the Gators (45-9) into next weekend's NCAA Super Region round to face Southeastern Conference rival Georgia (32-21) at Pressly Stadium.
About 48 hours earlier, UF coach Tim Walton pulled Hightower from Friday's game in the top of the seventh in a scoreless tie after a couple Bulls reached on an error and walk. The Florida defense bailed her out that afternoon with a magical double-play, and reliever Katie Chronister was credited with the win after Adams' last-bat heroics.
"Defense saved me so many times," Hightower said.
Adams, specifically, had more heroics Sunday, but the circumstances were much different, though still with a ton of meaning to the young lady in the circle, as well as her adoring teammates.
It took a few innings, but the Gators eventually got to Corrick in this one, thanks to back-to-back singles from Charla Echols and Kendyl Lindaman, followed by a run-scoring double from Cottrill in the fourth inning. All that came with nobody out, but Corrick still worked her way out of an eventual bases-loaded jam to keep the damage a manageable 1-0.
A solo homer by Cottrill in the sixth put the Gators in front 2-0, and when Corrick ran out of gas in the seventh, the home team tagged the Bulls' bullpen with six runs, including a grand slam by shortstop Sarah Longley, that sent Hightower to the circle in the USF seventh with a fat lead and needing just three outs for that first no-hitter.
Hightower walked the first batter she faced. The second, Brooke Hartman, hit the ball up the middle, to the left of the bag and past Longley. It looked to everyone in the ballpark like a single.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, man! That's a hit. OK, we're still gonna win and still going to Super regionals,' " Hightower said afterward. "It blew my mind."
Behind the base, Adams backhanded the grounder and, from her knees and her momentum carrying her away from the play, threw across her body to nail Hartman at first to keep the the no-no alive.
"One of the best plays I've ever seen at second base," Walton said. "And with the weight of that? The kids on the field know that it's a no-hitter and the kids on the field are doing everything they can to make sure that's not a hit. I've seen a lot of [players] try to throw that to second and get the scorer's judgment; fielder's choice or hit? She came up and gunned it. That was awesome."
So was the Florida on-field celebration after Hightower set down the next two batters to finish it all off. Hightower, of course, was in the middle of the mayhem.
The best pitcher during a regional weekend of great pitching.
Corrick may have been the losing pitcher in UF's 1-0 triumph in first-round action Friday, but it took a walk-off double by Hannah Adams in the bottom of the seventh to move the fourth-seeded Gators into the winner's bracket.
In Saturday's elimination frames, Corrick pitched the Bulls to a pair of victories by no-hitting Baylor in a 5-0 win, then chasing that outing by scattering three hits in a 1-0 victory over South Alabama. So in a 24-hour span, Corrick worked 20 innings over three games and gave up just one run on 10 hits to go with 23 strikeouts and just two walks, and thus bought USF a rematch with the Gators in Sunday's regional-championship round.
Guess who the Bulls trotted out with their season on the line?
The second time around against UF, Corrick struck out five of the first six Gators she faced and by the time Bulls coach Ken Eriksen came to get her in the seventh Sunday, Corrick — who left the field to a rousing ovation from the Pressly Stadium fans in orange and blue, as well as green and gold— had thrown 26 innings over the four games, fanned 32, walked only four and given up just two runs.
"Give credit where credit is due," UF sophomore catch Julia Cottrill said. "She's an amazing pitcher."
Yes. And here's the rub.
Corrick, this weekend, was the second-best pitcher in the regional.
And frankly, even somewhat remarkably, it wasn't close.
All Hightower, the junior from Monticello, Fla., did in her two outings was throw — get this — 13.1 hitless innings, including Sunday's complete-game no-no in an 8-0 victory that marked the first no-hitter of her career and sent the Gators (45-9) into next weekend's NCAA Super Region round to face Southeastern Conference rival Georgia (32-21) at Pressly Stadium.
"𝒜𝓇ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓃ℴ𝓉 ℯ𝓃𝓉ℯ𝓇𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃ℯ𝒹!"@NCAAsoftball Gainesville Regional
— Gators Softball (@GatorsSB) May 23, 2021
🔘 1st Career No-Hitter
🔘 13.1 IP | 0 Hits | 0 Runs
🔘 16 Strikeouts pic.twitter.com/hkM8LhdyIJ
About 48 hours earlier, UF coach Tim Walton pulled Hightower from Friday's game in the top of the seventh in a scoreless tie after a couple Bulls reached on an error and walk. The Florida defense bailed her out that afternoon with a magical double-play, and reliever Katie Chronister was credited with the win after Adams' last-bat heroics.
"Defense saved me so many times," Hightower said.
Adams, specifically, had more heroics Sunday, but the circumstances were much different, though still with a ton of meaning to the young lady in the circle, as well as her adoring teammates.
It took a few innings, but the Gators eventually got to Corrick in this one, thanks to back-to-back singles from Charla Echols and Kendyl Lindaman, followed by a run-scoring double from Cottrill in the fourth inning. All that came with nobody out, but Corrick still worked her way out of an eventual bases-loaded jam to keep the damage a manageable 1-0.
A solo homer by Cottrill in the sixth put the Gators in front 2-0, and when Corrick ran out of gas in the seventh, the home team tagged the Bulls' bullpen with six runs, including a grand slam by shortstop Sarah Longley, that sent Hightower to the circle in the USF seventh with a fat lead and needing just three outs for that first no-hitter.
Hightower walked the first batter she faced. The second, Brooke Hartman, hit the ball up the middle, to the left of the bag and past Longley. It looked to everyone in the ballpark like a single.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, man! That's a hit. OK, we're still gonna win and still going to Super regionals,' " Hightower said afterward. "It blew my mind."
Behind the base, Adams backhanded the grounder and, from her knees and her momentum carrying her away from the play, threw across her body to nail Hartman at first to keep the the no-no alive.
"One of the best plays I've ever seen at second base," Walton said. "And with the weight of that? The kids on the field know that it's a no-hitter and the kids on the field are doing everything they can to make sure that's not a hit. I've seen a lot of [players] try to throw that to second and get the scorer's judgment; fielder's choice or hit? She came up and gunned it. That was awesome."
So was the Florida on-field celebration after Hightower set down the next two batters to finish it all off. Hightower, of course, was in the middle of the mayhem.
The best pitcher during a regional weekend of great pitching.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hightower, Elizabeth (17-5)
L: CORRICK, Georgina (24-9)
Batting:
2B: Cottrill, Julia 1
HR: Cottrill, Julia 1 ; Longley, Sarah 1 ; Lindsey, Cheyenne 1
RBI: Cottrill, Julia 2 ; Hoover, Jaimie 1 ; Longley, Sarah 4 ; Lindsey, Cheyenne 1
SH: Longley, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kistler, Katie 1 ; Echols, Charla 1 ; Reis, Kali 1 ; Cottrill, Julia 2 ; Goddard, Baylee 1 ; Longley, Sarah 1 ; Lindsey, Cheyenne 1
SB: Adams, Hannah 1
HBP: Cottrill, Julia 1 ; Goddard, Baylee 2
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
4
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Softball
LHP
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
3B
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
1B
/ SoftballUTL
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