OKLAHOMA CITY —
Tim Walton always has emphasized the importance of a team's first game at the Women's College World Series. Being immediately dumped into the loser's bracket and having to claw through one elimination game after another is not a recipe for winning a championship.
The Gators checked that Game 1 box Thursday night,
defeating Oregon State 7-1 in their WCWS opener. The result moved 14th-seeded UF into the winner's bracket, that much Walton knew. Beyond that?
"I don't even know when we play next," he said.
For the record, Florida (49-17) plays seventh-seeded Oklahoma State (50-12) Saturday at 7 p.m.
Once upon a time, as in the previous 40 seasons, the WCWS format had the first-round winners playing the next day and the first round losers, after a day off, vying in a Saturday of four elimination games that reduced the field to four. Not anymore.
It all changed last summer when the NCAA approved a new WCWS format that spread the games out with two more so-called "off" days.
[Note: Florida had a four-hour time slot blocked off for hitting and fielding work at two different venues Friday, so that's the "off" day]
NEXT UP AT WCWS
Friday Elimination Games (all times EST)
| 5-seed UCLA (48-9) vs 9-seed Northwestern (45-12) |
7 p.m. |
| Oregon State (39-21) vs Arizona (38-21) |
9:30 p.m. |
Saturday Winner's Bracket Games
| 1-seed Oklahoma (55-2) vs Texas (44-19-1) |
3 p.m. |
| 14th-seed Florida (49-17) vs 7-seed Oklahoma State (50-12) |
7 p.m. |
In years past, the event was staged over seven days, limiting flexibility with scheduling. Weather delays and some marathon extra-inning affairs led the Division I Softball Committee to expand the event by two extra days. The coup de grace came last year when Oklahoma, the nation's No. 1-ranked team and perennial power that resides just 25 minutes south of the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex, battled Florida State in the first game of their NCAA championship series that because of nasty Sooner State thunderstorms did not end until after 2 a.m. local time.
OU lost that game, but was back at practice the next morning, evened the series the next night and — playing its eighth game in eight days — won the national title two days later.
The format changes were made three months later.
"I am absolutely thrilled. I think the entire softball community feels the same way," Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso said at the time. "I just see the physical drain that it has been on athletes to the point where, as a coach, you're uncomfortable playing them."
Said NCAA softball committee chair Sandy Atkins: "What we've accomplished with this format change for the Women's College World Series is further prioritization of student-athlete rest, recovery and preparation during the event and more flexibility to manage weather delays in Oklahoma City. The engagement from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, particularly the active coaches who have appeared in the [WCWS], helped identify the day off before the championships and minimizing doubleheaders as key recommendations to improve the championship. The focused feedback helped us narrow in on this alternative format that targets those priorities, while still preserving the format components that allow for a competitive series and quality experience for teams and fans."
It worked out well for Oklahoma City, too. Local officials estimated that the two additional WCWS days will bring $24 million worth of economic impact to the OKC community.
As for the Gators-Cowboys matchup, the extra day of recovery almost certainly means UF will face OSU ace Kelly Maxwell, who improved to 20-4 on the season (with an ERA of 1.19) by hurling a 4-2 complete-game victory at unseeded Arizona in Thursday night's opening round. The Cowgirls very likely would have put Maxwell in the circle under the old format — especially with a second-round win leading to an off day — but the configured bracket almost assures the best pitchers on each team will be called on through the first three rounds.
