Devastating Super Regional series ends Gators championship hopes

Story written by Bailiegh Williams
Championships have become not only hope, but also expectation in Gainesville for the Florida Gators softball team. After two WCWS Championships in a row, and an even better season in the making in 2016, no one expected the season to end before Oklahoma City. The only problem with expectations is that they often lead to devastation.

With a 3-0 loss Thursday night, and a heartbreaking 3-2 loss Friday, Florida’s season came to an abrupt end. It was not hard to tell the Bulldogs were the more relaxed team this weekend.

In game one, Delanie Gourley was rolling as usual. Things didn’t start to get hairy for the Gators until the top of the fourth inning. Georgia’s three-headed monster of the night consisted of Alyssa DiCarlo, Tina Iosefa, and Maeve McGuire. The trio produced nearly identical scoring drives in both the fourth and sixth innings. Both scoring opportunities began with a DiCarlo single and a walk drawn by Iosefa. McGuire, who was 3-3 at the plate on the night, came through with RBI singles to score DiCarlo for the first two runs.

Gourley continued to struggle in the sixth, giving up an RBI groundout to Katie Browne and a Lacey Sumerlin single before getting out of the inning with a groundout from Samantha LaZear.

Chelsea Wilkinson, ace for Georgia, left Florida batters clueless most of the night. Florida left runners on base every inning but one. Wilkinson gave Florida opportunity after opportunity by walking three batters and two HBP’s, but the Gators could never capitalize.

Merritt put the best swing of the night on a ball laced to left center for a double with two outs, but again, timely hitting was not the Gators strong point in the game. The Gators could not find a way to get on top of Wilkinson’s pitches and never made adjustments at the plate.
Two 0-2 pitches, a couple of fielding miscues, and continued inability to make adjustments to Wilkinson lost game two for Aleshia Ocasio and the Gators.

A leadoff single and a fielding error by freshman shortstop, Alex Voss, gave Georgia runners on first and second with only one out to start the game. With two outs, Alex Hugo hit a pop-up. Munro took control on the ball by calling for it the entire way, but communication was lost between her and Fuller and the ball dropped in foul ground. Hugo went on to get a base hit and the Gators were rattled defensively. With a little help from a great play by Kelsey Stewart, Ocasio pitched her way out of the first without giving up a run.

Defensive miscues by the Gators continued in the bottom of the second inning with another pop-up miscommunication, this time between Fuller and Voss. Again, ruled a foul ball, but Georgia’s Katie Browne made the Gators pay with a 0-2 rocket over the left field fence.

Ocasio got things going for Florida on offense in the fifth with a leadoff base hit to right field. She advanced to third after a Janell Wheaton groundout and a DeWitt single up the middle. Munro reached on a hit-by-pitch, which brought grand slam hitter, Fuller to the plate. KSP Stadium was finally loud for one of the first times all weekend. Fuller reached on a hit-by-pitch as well, which scored Ocasio to tie the game. The Gators took the lead with an RBI groundout from Lorenz.

Taylor Schwarz entered the game at first base for Wheaton in the bottom of the fifth and made a stellar play catching a pop-up in the Florida dugout for the first out of the inning. Just as she has done all season long, she took advantage of her playing time.

After finally making some adjustments offensively in the fifth, the Gators could not keep the momentum rolling in the sixth or seventh.

With a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, game two looked like it was in the bag. It began with a quick fly out to center field from Georgia second baseman, Alex Hugo. McGuire reached on a questionable call by the first base umpire on a throw from Voss that took Schwarz off the bag for a split-second. Ocasio got a huge second out in Browne, who hit the homerun in the second inning of the game for Georgia.

That brought senior, Kaylee Puailoa, to the plate for a pinch hit appearance with two outs. With no balls and two strikes, Ocasio gave her a belt high rise ball that didn’t quite rise, and Puailoa gave it a ride over the center field fence just out of the reach of Kirsti Merritt.

The homerun ended the game and Florida’s season, just like that. It was over.

As the 16th seed in the tournament facing the top seed, Georgia had nothing to lose this weekend and played with that attitude. Softball is a game of adjustments and the Bulldogs made those adjustments in this series when Florida could not. That is why they came out on top.

It is sad to see the second-winningest senior class in Florida softball history go out like this, but their legacy will not be remembered by this post-season.

Coach Tim Walton expressed his pride for the seniors after the game, saying, “Really proud of them and just really what they’ve, not only what they’ve brought to our program, but what they’ve left behind. Just a lot of great kids, a lot of great character.”

Winning championships consecutively in any sport is one of the hardest things a team can possibly do, winning three consecutively is nearly impossible. Nonetheless, it was a historical season for the Gators in 2016.

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.